Blood Ties
by BladeGuy9
Summary: After Marceline comes down with a rare disease known as the vampire flu, a mysterious doctor shows up saying he can cure Marceline. Unable to trust this mysterious doctor, Bubblegum looks into the disease and realizes it can kill Marceline if they don't find the cure. Finn and Jake race against the clock as they go out in search of the cure's location. Will they succeed? FxM
1. The Vampire Flu

Blood Ties

By BladeGuy9

**BladeGuy9: After not writing anything for so long, I'm back with two new fics: this one and Sweet and Sour. You should all check that one out later. With that said, hope you all enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their owners.**

* * *

"That movie was awesome!" exclaims Finn as he, Jake, Princess Bubblegum, and Marceline all make their way out of the drive in theater. Ever since the Door Lord incident, the four of them have been hanging out more. For the most part, they got along fine, but occasionally, Marceline and Bubblegum would have a fight. But their fighting was getting less frequent each time they met up, meaning they were slowly on the path to friendship.

"You know it man. That guy went ba-nay-nay on those zombies. He was all like, bam! And pow!" exclaims Jake, imitating a scene from the movie they saw.

"Well, I liked it when the couple was reunited at the end of the movie. I love a good happy ending," says Bubblegum.

"What about you, Marceline? Did you like the movie?" asks Finn. Marceline is looking up at a nearby tree, where a raven is seen sitting on a branch, staring down at her. "Marcie? Hello?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I thought it was pretty good," she says.

"That doesn't sound like an answer you normally give about movies you like," says Finn.

"Sorry guys, it's just, I've been feeling a little weak lately. Like, I have to save my strength, meaning I can't waste my strength by just floating above everything. I have to sit on my couch now, and you were right about it, guys, that couch is as hard as a rock," she explains. "Plus, I've been having this weird raven follow me for a couple days now, look." She points up at the tree branch and everyone sees the raven.

"Maybe he likes you," says Jake.

"I don't know, I think I'm just gonna go home now."

"No, don't go, the night is still young," says Bubblegum.

"Plus, we still have our jam session," adds Finn.

Marceline sighs. "All right, guess I can stay for the jam session."

"Cool, now, let's head back to the Tree House," says Jake, growing huge and picking Finn and Bubblegum up, putting them on his back. Jake heads for the Tree House, while Marceline flies after him.

* * *

Finn begins beat boxing while Jake begins playing with his viola. Beemo jumps onto Bubblegum's lap and she takes off his "face" to begin playing him. Marceline begins strumming her axe bass. The gang keeps a good beat going until a loud grumbling noise is heard, causing everyone to stop.

"Uh… what was that?" asks Jake.

Everyone looks at Marceline, who blushes. "Sorry, just keep going, I'm probably just hungry or something," she says. Everyone just shrugs and continues playing. After a few minutes, they all approve of the beat and begin trying to come up with lyrics. Marceline's stomach lets out another loud grumble.

"Man, Marceline, you must be really hungry," says Finn. "I think we have some strawberries in the fridge." He gets up and goes to the kitchen. However, he stops when Marceline clutches her stomach, hunches over, and moans loudly.

"Guys… I don't think… that my stomach… is growling… because I'm hungry…" she manages to get out.

"Well… why is it?" asks Bubblegum.

Marceline goes to says something, but stops when her stomach grumbles louder. "Uh oh…" she mutters. Without warning, she then throws up all over the floor before her. Finn, Jake, and Bubblegum back up from her so they don't get hit. They do notice that the vomit she is throwing up is red, probably because she only eats red. Marceline finally stops and kneels down to the ground. "Guys… help… me…" she says before falling to the side.

"Marceline!" Finn cries, rushing over to her side. He puts a hand on her forehead and pulls it back quickly. "Guys, she's burning up!"

"Quick, let's get her to the infirmary back at Candy Castle," says Bubblegum. They begin picking up Marceline and rushing her off to the Candy Kingdom. However, as they rush off, the same raven from before is seen sitting on a branch on Finn and Jake's Tree House. It watches them until they are no longer in view. It then flies off.

* * *

The gang makes it to Candy Castle, just in time too, because as they go through the door, rain begins pouring down. They rush up to the infirmary, where they are greeted by Dr. Ice Cream and Nurse Pound Cake.

"Hello, Princess, what's going on?" asks Dr. Ice Cream.

"No time to explain! Just bring us an ice pack and a thermometer! Nurse Pound Cake, please take us to a room where we can put our friend here, and make sure it has a soft bed!" Princess Bubblegum orders. Dr. Ice Cream nods and rushes off to get the ice pack. Nurse Pound Cake leads them to an empty room. Finn, Jake, and Bubblegum set Marceline down on the bed, which was soft, like Bubblegum had asked for.

Dr. Ice Cream comes in with an ice pack and puts it on Marceline's forehead. Her cheeks are now red. "What happened to her?" the doctor asks.

"We're not sure, she threw up on our floor and she just fainted," says Jake.

"All we know is that she's running a high fever and is feeling weak," says Bubblegum.

Doctor Ice Cream begins inspecting Marceline by checking her pulse, taking her temperature, and anything else. "Well, he pulse is normal, but it's ever so slowly getting worse. She has a temperature of 108 degrees, which is very odd for a vampire, and when I was checking her, she had a hot flash, which instantly melted her ice pack. Nurse Pound Cake, go to the freezer and fetch me the cooler filled with ice packs." The nurse nods and rushes off.

"Doctor Ice Cream, what is wrong with Marceline?" Finn asks.

"She has succumbed to the vampire flu, my dear boy," says a mysterious voice. Everyone turns to the door way of the room. A flash of lightning strikes and a tall, looming figure stands in the doorway.

* * *

**BladeGuy9: Well, that ends chapter one. I know this is shorter than what I usually write, but trust me; later chapters will be longer than this. Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. R&R please!**


	2. Ravenwood

**Wow, I had no idea so many people would like the beginning of this fan fic. Thanks so much for the reviews guys, it makes me want to keep writing, and your reviews let me know that I've pleased you. But here's chapter two, hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

Everyone stares at the mysterious figure standing in the doorway in silence. The figure is very tall and is dressed as a plague doctor. In his right hand is a cane, in his left hand is a black suitcase, and on his left shoulder is a raven. Everyone continues to stare at him in silence for what seems like hours. Finally, Bubblegum is the first to speak.

"Who… who are you?" she asks.

"Oh, of course," the figure says, walking into the room, his feet making a "click" sound with every step he takes. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Ravenwood, and I am very well known for my cures for the freezer burn flu, the lumps, and much more; it is a pleasure to meet you princess," he says, bowing down and taking his hat off.

Princess Bubblegum looks at him, a shaky smile on her face. "It's nice to meet you to, doctor. But why exactly are you here?"

"Well," he starts as he stands up straight and puts his hat back on, "I was making my way to the Rock Kingdom's hospital to meet with Dr. Princess to discuss about the new types of medicine. Then, I say you three making your way to the Candy Kingdom with your sick friend here," he explains, pointing at Marceline. "As I made it inside, I overheard the nurse mumbling something about vampire flu. I have been studying the vampire flu for quite some time now."

"Are you saying you know how to cure Marceline?" Finn asks, his hopes rising.

Ravenwood looks at the boy and sighs. "Sadly, no. But, I feel if I study a vampire with this very rare disease, I might be able to cure it."

Everyone looks at each other; a little unsure of what this guy was saying is true.

"Will you excuse us for a moment," says Bubblegum, pushing Finn, Jake, and Dr. Ice Cream out of the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Guys, I'm not so sure about this guy," Bubblegum says the minute she shuts the door.

"What? But he can cure Marceline!" Finn cries.

"Yeah, why don't you believe him?" asks Jake.

"Think of it this way: some random guy we've never seen before in our lives comes to us out of the blue saying he might be able to cure the vampire flu. Doesn't that seem a little farfetched?" asks Bubblegum.

"Well… hmm, maybe you're right," says Jake, pondering Bubblegum's words.

"But what other choice do we have?" asks Finn. "Does anyone here even know anything about this vampire flu?"

Bubblegum looks at him, shocked. "Well… Dr. Ice Cream?"

"I sadly know nothing, princess. This is the first I've heard of it," she says.

The candy princess looks back at Finn, who has a look of triumph on his face. Bubblegum sighs, realizing she's been beat. "All right, I guess we don't have any other choice." The four of them walk back inside and see Ravenwood examining Marceline. He looks up and sees them.

"Ah, good, you're back. I've examined the vampire and she has a very high fever. We need ice packs to take it down," he says, telling them something they already know. On cue, Nurse Pound Cake comes back with a large cooler. "Excellent timing nurse!" Ravenwood exclaims as he walks over to her and takes the cooler from her. He sets it down and pulls an ice pack out, putting it on Marceline's forehead. He turns back to the group. "I shall be making this my office. I won't be leaving until I cure this disease. Now, off with you all," he says, getting up and pushing everyone out of the room.

Outside in the hall, Bubblegum crosses her arms. "I'm still not so sure about that guy," she says, walking off.

Nurse Pound Cake looks up at Dr. Ice Cream, a confused look on her face. "Who was that guy, doctor?"

"I'll explain everything," Dr. Ice Cream says as they both walk off, leaving Finn and Jake.

"What do we do now?" asks Jake.

"I guess we just go home and hope this guy can cure Marceline," says Finn. Jake nods and they walk off. Finn looks back at the room Marceline is held in one last time before turning a corner.

* * *

Three days have passed since the night Ravenwood said he would try to cure Marceline. Finn and Jake have been doing their usual adventuring since then, hoping Marceline can be cured. Jake was acting like his normal, lazy, adventurous self. It seemed like he wasn't worried about Marceline, but deep down, he was really concerned about the vampire queen.

Finn, on the other hand, showed his concern. Every day, he'd wake up with a sad look on his face and stay like that for practically the whole day. Sometimes Jake would be able to get a smile on his face by taking him on a bombastic adventure. But usually, he'd see a frown on his bro's face. Jake would always assure Finn that Marceline was gonna make it out of this okay, which helped Finn a little, but not too much.

Today, the two adventurers were relaxing. Jake was sitting on the couch playing Beemo, while Finn was lying on the floor, sighing. Jake looks over at him with a concerned look.

"Come on dude, you've been sulking over the Marceline being sick thing for the past three days. When are you gonna get over it?" Jake asks.

"When she's her regular, radical dame self again," he sighs.

"But you're acting like she's gonna die, which she isn't!" Finn just ignores him, causing Jake to sigh with frustration. "All right, how about this? We go over to the Candy Kingdom and see how Marceline is doing. How's that sound?"

Finn looks up at him, a small smile on his face. "I guess we could go see how she's doing."

Jake jumps off the couch and walks over to his brother. "Great! Let's get going!" he exclaims. Jake jumps out the window. Finn jumps out the window after him, landing on a now large Jake. They head toward the Candy Kingdom in hopes to see a somewhat better vampire queen.

When they arrive at the infirmary, they quickly head up to Marceline's room. They knock on the door only to have it slowly open by itself. Finn and Jake look at each other with confusion. They look into the room and notice that all the lights are out and the curtains are shut. They make their way into the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Marceline? Ravenwood?" Finn whisper yells? "Anyone here?" He then trips over something. "Ow! What the heck?"

"Hang on dude, let me find the light switch," says Jake, feeling the wall for the switch. "Oh, here we go," he says, finding and flipping the switch. Lights fill the room, causing Finn and Jake to gasp at the condition of the room. All over the floor are papers and beakers and spilled chemicals. Near the other side of the room is a desk up against the wall filled with papers and open books. Next to the desk is a perch for Ravenwood's raven, which is seen sleeping on it.

"This guy is a real slob, isn't he Finn?" asks Jake. He receives no answer. "Finn?" Jake asks again. He then looks over at Finn, who is seen by Marceline's bedside. It looks like she hasn't even been touched since they last saw her. An ice pack is on her forehead and her cheeks are redder than last time they saw her.

"Dude," says Jake, "it doesn't even look like that Ravenwood guy has touched her."

Finn stares down at her, putting his right hand on her left cheek. He feels something that he doesn't feel on Marceline too often: warmth, and not the good kind. Her breathing is very soft and normal, which lets Finn know the vampire flu hasn't affected her breathing.

Footsteps can be heard coming from outside the room. Finn and Jake gasp, thinking it's Ravenwood. Jake stretches his arm over to the light switch and turns it off. Finn and Jake then dive under the bed Marceline is on. The door opens and the lights turn back on. The door is then shut and the one who entered the room makes their way over to Marceline and stops where Finn and Jake are hiding. Finn notices that the intruder is wearing a pink dress, and he only knows one person who wears pink.

Finn pokes his head out from under the bed. "Princess Bubblegum?"

The princess lets out a small shriek. She looks down and gives a sigh of relief. "Oh, Finn, it's just you," she says, extending a hand to help him up.

"What are you doing here?" Finn asks.

"I'm here to check on Marceline. I heard Ravenwood went to get some supplies so I thought I'd check to see if this fraud has made any progress."

"Fraud?" asks Jake as he comes out from under the bed.

"Yes, this guy is a fraud! For the past three days, I've been in the library trying to find facts about this guy. I've been through practically every book that talks about doctors and their discoveries and cures and found nothing about him. He's nothing but a fraud!" Bubblegum exclaims.

"If he's a fraud, then what's he doing here?" Finn asks.

"That I don't know. But I knew we shouldn't have trusted him the moment he said he could cure the vampire flu, which I've been studying upon while looking for some information of Ravenwood."

"Really?" asks Jake. "Did you find the cure?"

"Not yet, but I did find the… symptoms," she says sadly, confusing Finn and Jake. She continues on. "I found out that the symptoms for the vampire flu are a high fever, incredibly weak, hot flashes-" on cue, Marceline begins sweating and her ice pack instantly melts. "-like that," says Bubblegum, pulling another ice pack from the cooler and putting it on her. "Anyway, hot flashes, visions that can tell the future, and…"

"And what?" asks Finn.

"…death."

* * *

**Well, that's the end of chapter two, yet another cliffhanger. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Until next time, peace.**


	3. The Blood Rose

Finn and Jake's jaws drop open in shock. "Wh…what?" questions Jake.

"If we don't find her cure soon, the vampire flu will cause Marceline to die," says Bubblegum, tearing up a little.

Everyone in the room is silent; all that can be heard is Marceline's soft breathing. Finn's eyes slowly begin tearing up. Something inside him just breaks: his heart. When Bubblegum said the word 'death', Finn's heart snapped in two. He doesn't know why, but all he knows is that he might lose one of his best friends. Tears now gushing from his eyes, he rushes off.

"Finn, wait!" Jake calls.

"What's wrong with him?" asks Bubblegum.

"I don't know. Last time he was like this was when our parents died. What do we do?"

"Okay, I'll go and look for the cure to the vampire flu; you just go and find Finn. I'll meet up with you guys as soon as I find the cure."

Jake nods and rushes off after Finn while Bubblegum heads for the library.

* * *

After searching all day, Jake can't find Finn. He looked everywhere. The Tree House, the Candy Kingdom, the Cloud Kingdom, Cotton Candy Forest, everywhere. Jake begins panting heavily as he leans up against a tree to catch his breath from searching all day. "Man, I am so out of shape," he says.

The magic dog looks up at the sky and notices the sun is setting. "Dang it, where could that kid be?" he asks himself. He looks ahead and notices the entrance to Marceline's Cave. "Hmm… I wonder…" Jake walks into the cave and heads for Marceline's House. "Finn!" he calls, his voice echoing off the cave walls. He listens for a moment and hears sniffling. He looks around sees him sitting on the porch of deck of Marceline's House, his feet dangling above the water. Jake stretches over to him, taking a seat next to him. "Hey buddy, you okay?" he asks, putting an arm around his shoulder.

Finn sniffles some more, wiping some tears away. "N…no," he croaks. "Marceline is going to die, Jake! She's one of our best friends, and I can't stand to see her like this!" cries Finn, more tears forming in his eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm sure Princess Bubblegum-"

"She's been through so much junk her whole life! Her dad eating her fries, losing Hambo, Ash making us give him the memory of Marceline breaking up with him, having no friends for five hundred years, and her dad tricking her into ruling the Night o'sphere! I just can't stand to see her like this and I… I just wanna cure her myself so we can hang out like we used to, have jam sessions, strange pixies, all the fun stuff we used to do!"

Jake looks at Finn with his mouth hanging opening. "Dude, are you sure this is because you miss hanging out with her?" Finn looks at him, tears in his eyes. "Because from what I can tell, it seems that you have 'feelings' for her."

Finn's cheeks instantly turn red. "What? No, you're crazy!" he cries, turning away from him.

Jake gasps. "It IS because you have feelings for her!"

"No it's not! It's just… I'll never be… able to find… another… radical dame like her ever again!" he cries.

Jake looks at him and shrugs. "All right, if you say so. Come on, it's getting late. Let's go back to the Tree Fort. When we get home, I'll cook you some meatloaf if you want, since it's your favorite food and all," he offers.

"Thanks," says Finn, wiping more tears away as they make their way home.

* * *

The clear, night skies fill Ooo as Finn and Jake reach the Tree Fort. They notice that their front door is opened slightly. They walk inside and hear noises coming from upstairs. Jake stretches himself and Finn up to their living room and find Princess Bubblegum holding a controller and playing Beemo. "Yes, take THAT you stupid frog!" she cries.

"Uh… Princess Bubblegum?" Jake asks.

"Huh? Oh, Jake, I'm glad to see you and Finn are home."

"Yeah… but… what are you doing here and how did you get in our house?"

"Well, Beemo let me in and we were waiting for you. So it asked if I wanted to play a video game while we wait. I figured why not and played some game called "Guardians of Sunshine". It was hard at first, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly and just beat Sleepy Sam."

"Oh, what?" cries Jake. "You beat Sleepy Sam? We could never beat him!"

"Wasn't that hard, you just gotta be fast when performing the combo move."

"But how did you know you needed a combo move to beat him?"

"Beemo told me and-"

"Are we seriously talking about a video game?" cries Finn, cutting her off.

"Oh, right, sorry about that. Anyway, I'm here because I came to tell you guys I found the cure for the vampire flu!"

Finn's eyes widen. "You… what?"

"I managed to find the cure!" she exclaims again, showing them a book she brought with her. "This is the same book that told me the symptoms of the vampire flu. It says that in an underground kingdom called the Medic Kingdom, a plant known as the Blood Rose grows. The Blood Rose is filled with medicine the counters the vampire flu virus. All you have to do is get the rose, have Marceline suck the red from it, and she'll be cured."

Finn couldn't believe his ears. There was an actual cure for the vampire flu. He wanted to rush out that door and run all the way to the Medic Kingdom to get the Blood Rose and save Marceline. Only problem is... he didn't know where the Medic Kingdom was.

"Well where is the Medic Kingdom?" asks Jake.

Bubblegum tilts her head, putting one hand on her cheek and the other hand on her elbow to prop it up. She thinks for a moment, but finally sighs. "I sadly don't know. I'll head back to my castle and find a route to the Medic Kingdom."

"Cool, and tonight, we'll prepare ourselves for the journey a head," says Jake.

"Come by the castle tomorrow and I'll give you a map to the Medic Kingdom. See you guys tomorrow," she says, putting the book under her arm and heading back to the castle.

"Bye princess! Thanks so much for the information!" Finn calls.

Bubblegum smiles and waves good bye. As she makes it outside and heads for the Candy Kingdom, a raven watches her walk off. It then spreads its wings and flies off toward the Candy Kingdom.

* * *

Morning arrives in the Land of Ooo sooner than usual. Finn and Jake are seen walking through Cotton Candy Forest, heading toward the Candy Kingdom so Bubblegum can give them the directions to the Medic Kingdom. As they go through the sweet forest, Finn thinks about a dream he had the night before. It was about him and Marceline lying on a grassy hillside looking up at the stars. They were telling each other adventures that they had around Ooo and Marceline even taught Finn about some constellations. Jake had already taught Finn about some constellations, but Marceline taught him about some Jake didn't even know. Then, they eventually stared into each other's eyes, which wasn't much since they were beady and black. But they slowly inched their heads toward each other until their lips touched. Then, Finn had woken up.

With the dream he had last night and when he found out Marceline might die, Finn was actually starting to believe that he was falling for Marceline. 'That couldn't be possible; we made it perfectly clear that we didn't have those types of feelings toward each other,' Finn thinks as he and Jake walk through Cotton Candy Forest. Finn was completely torn; is he falling for Marceline or just really concerned about her?

"Hey Finn, you okay bro?" Jake asks as they walk through the forest.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, just thinking," he replies.

"About what?"

"Oh, just… wondering if Beemo still does that weird junk when we're not around."

"Oh… all right."

It is pretty silent on the remainder of the trip to the Candy Kingdom. Finn goes back to wondering if he's in love with Marceline or not. His thoughts are then broken when a certain princess's voice calls out to them.

"Finn, Jake! You made it!" cries Bubblegum's voice. She rushes down the stairs from the entrance and approaches them.

"Hey PB, did you manage to find the way to the Medic Kingdom?" asks Jake.

"Yes, I managed to find the quickest route to the Medic Kingdom. Here's the map I made," she says, handing them a rolled up piece of paper. "I'll stay here and try to keep Marceline healthy enough to fight the vampire flu since that dingus Ravenwood isn't doing anything about it."

"How long do we have until… you know…" says Finn.

Bubblegum sighs. "The book never said. That's why I gave you the quickest route possible. Also, take this," she says, pulling out a hollow pendant. She walks toward Finn and puts it around his neck. "I'll be checking in on you guys periodically to see how you're doing. Please be safe and hurry back."

"Don't worry, princess, we will," says Jake as he and Finn head off. Bubblegum wishes them luck one last time. However, from Marceline's room, Ravenwood looks down at them through the window. He shuts it and walks back over to his desk.

"I can't have them succeed, it'll ruin my plans!" he yells in frustration. He looks over at his raven. "Thank you so much for telling me this," he says, petting its head. He then pulls out a cell phone and dials a number. "Hey, it's me. Remember that favor you owe me? Well, it's time to repay that favor," says Ravenwood, laughing evilly into the phone.


	4. Finn vs Leon

**Oh my glob, thanks so much for your reviews guys. I'm glad you like this story so far, and I hope you continue to like it. Well, here's chapter four, enjoy.**

* * *

Finn and Jake walk passed Tree Trunk's house and stop at the entrance to the Evil Forest. "You sure this is where we start, man?" asks Jake.

"Um…" Finn pulls out the map and looks at it. "Yup, Princess Bubblegum has here that we go through the Evil Forest first," says Finn.

"It's been a while since we've been in there. Last time we came here was when Tree Trunks ate that crystal gem apple," says Jake as they walk into the forest.

"Yeah, wonder if anything has changed since then." The two adventurers walk deeper into the forest, keeping their guards up. Along the way, Finn begins thinking of Marceline and all the good times they spent together before she got the vampire flu. Then he started thinking of what it would be like if they were in a relationship. Would it be any different from how they usually spend time together?

As Finn continues thinking, Jake takes the map and begins looking through it. Without realizing it, they come across a fork in the road. Jake takes the left path while Finn walks down the right path. Then, a head pops out from the bushes. The body the head is attached to walks out from the bushes, and turns out it's a chameleon. The chameleon is taller than Finn, but shorter than Bubblegum. It's skin is a light shade of a tropical green, it's eyes are similar to Jake's, a long, spiraling tail, a crest on it's head, and it's standing on it's hind legs.

"Son of a blee blop, they went on separate paths. Great, taking care of these guys is gonna be harder than I thought; better get to work," says the chameleon as he turns invisible and goes down the right path.

* * *

Finn continues thinking about Marceline as he walks down the forest path. His thoughts are interrupted when his stomach growls loudly. "Man, I must be hungry if my stomach made a noise that loud," he says. "Hey Jake, you wanna stop to have lunch?" he asks as he pulls his backpack off to grab some food inside. He waits for Jake to answer, but gets nothing. "Jake?" He looks around to find that Jake isn't with him anymore. "Oh no, this is bad. Jake!" Finn calls out, hoping his bro will call back. He hears nothing but the sound of the wind blowing on the trees.

"Okay Finn, it's all right. Jake isn't here, but I'm sure if you continue on, you'll make it to the end and find Jake there," he says to himself. "All I have to do it follow the map, and…" Finn looks for the map, but cannot find it. "…realize Jake has the map. Great, now I gotta wonder around aimlessly and hope I make it to the end," says Finn, whose stomach lets out another loud growl. To satisfy it, he pulls out one of the dozen sandwiches him and Jake made the night before. He begins eating it, sitting up against a tree.

While making it's way through the bushes, the chameleon from before spots Finn. "There you are," it mutters, still maintaining it's invisible form. Finn goes to take another bite of his sandwich, but the chameleon makes a rustling noise in the bushes. Finn puts his sandwich on his pack and walks over to the bush. Still invisible, the chameleon walks out of the bush and climbs up the tree Finn was sitting up against. It stands on a branch and looks down to where Finn's pack is. It notices the sandwich and opens it's mouth, sending a long, sticky tongue at the sandwich. The tongue sticks onto the sandwich and brings it back into the chameleon's mouth.

Finn looks through the bushes. "Hello? Is anyone here?" he asks, hoping it is Jake trying to prank him. He sighs when he can't find anyone and heads back to the tree. When he sits down, he notices his sandwich is gone. "What the? Someone jacked my sandwich!" he cries.

Laughter fills the air as Finn looks around the area. "Oh human boy," says a voice, "I'm going to have a lot of fun with you," the voice says.

Finn grabs his demon sword from his pack and clutches it tightly. "Show yourself!"

The voice laughs again and before Finn's face appears the chameleon that has been following him. Finn jumps back in shock. He notices the chameleon is hanging in front of him using his tail to keep him hanging. "Greetings, human boy."

"Who are you? What do you want?" asks Finn, getting up and pointing his sword at him.

The chameleon drops to the ground and stands up straight, looming over Finn. "The name's Leon and I'm going to assassinate you!" the chameleon cries.

"Why would you want to assassinate me?" asks Finn.

"I'm an assassin, kid, think about it," says Leo. "I should mention, though, that I am a first class assassin of the Guild of Assassins," he says evilly.

"Oh, so you must know Me-mow," says Finn.

"Me-mow? No one knows of her except the Guild of Assassins and… a human boy and his dog." Leon glares at Finn. "You're the one who foiled her test for assassinating Wildberry Princess!"

"Duh, she was gonna kill her, and I'm the hero around these parts! I can't let a princess get assassinated!"

"This is gonna be a lot more fun than I thought," says Leon.

"I can take you down easy," says a confident Finn.

"Fool! Do you forget already? I'm an assassin! I'm no ordinary chameleon! Because of the radiation from the Great Mushroom War, my size grew, and my normal abilities were enhanced because of said radiation. For instance, my ability to blend into the environment has increased tenfold, and by that, I mean no giveaways! But that's not all; I now have the power to transform into anything I desire!" Leon cries. He demonstrates by turning his left hand into a dagger, and his right hand into a flail. Finn gulps in shock.

* * *

Jake continues down the left path, still looking at the map. "Okay, so once we make it passed the Water Kingdom, there should be a tree stump with a face drawn on it, and below that is the Medic Kingdom, got that Finn?" asks Jake as he looks up from the map. He then realizes Finn isn't with him. "Finn? Oh crud, we got separated!" he cries. He then folds the map up and stashes it in a "pocket" and enlarges himself as he begins looking for Finn.

* * *

Leon laughs as he swings his flail hand around. He swings it at Finn, who ducks out of the way. Leon glares at the hero as he brings the flail back to him. Leon then charges at him and swings his dagger hand at Finn. He jumps back, avoiding the dagger. Leon then attempts to stab Finn, but he blocks with his demon sword, pushing Leon back into the base of a tree. Finn goes to slice him, but Leon quickly turns invisible, causing Finn to get his sword stuck in the base of the tree.

Leon's laughter fills the air as Finn tries getting his sword out of the tree. He then feels something hit him in the back of the head repeatedly. He finally manages to get his sword out and change his position. "Face me, chameleon!"

Above him, Leon appears on a tree branch, grinning down at him. "As you wish," he says, lunging down at Finn, slicing one of his arms with his dagger. Finn winces in pain and watches as Leon laughs and goes invisible again. Finn frowns as he is hit multiple times from Leon's flail hand. Now getting bruises everywhere, Finn kneels to the ground, panting heavily. Leon then lashes his tail out at Finn and wraps it around him. The chameleon assassin appears, grinning evilly as he approaches him.

"Don't worry, I'll make your death quick and painless," he says, putting his dagger hand up to his neck. Finn tries escaping, but Leon has a tight grip on him. He then begins thinking of Marceline and what will happen to her if he doesn't get the blood rose. The thought of that causes a burst of energy to flow through Finn. He then breaks free of Leon's grip, kicking him in the gut and sending him backwards and to the ground. Leon gets up only to see Finn charging at him, swinging his sword around. Leon puts his dagger hand up and blocks his swings. But Finn slowly backs him up into a tree.

"This is impossible! Where is that burst of energy coming from?" asks Leon. He then looks into Finn's beady eyes and sees determination inside them. Finn goes to slice Leon in half, but he finds an opening and shoots his tongue out at Finn, hitting him square in the chest. He pushes him to the ground, causing him to hit his head and drop his sword. Leon looms over him as he gets up, rubbing his head. "This is where it ends!" The chameleon assassin points his dagger hand at Finn, ready to stab him.

Just before he does, a large, yellow foot smashes him. Finn jumps in shock and looks up at who the foot belongs to. "Jake!" Finn cries, getting up and getting his sword.

"Finn, man I am glad I found you," Jake says as he lowers his hand for Finn to get on. He does and is put on Jake's back. "Hey man, you look pretty beat up, what happened?"

Finn begins sweating. He doesn't want Jake to know about Leon and his battle with him, or else he might take him back to the Candy Kingdom, which will stop their quest to get the cure for Marceline.

"Oh, I just ran into some evil sign posts and a brain beast. I'll be okay though," he says, lying about who he battled.

"Well, all right. I'll take us to the next location, which is some desert or something," Jake says, trying to recall what the map said. He then walks off in the direction toward the next destination. From where he was standing, Leon is seen, flat as a pancake. He moans in pain as he slowly gets up, his hands turning back to normal.

"Ugh, if that dog hadn't smashed me, that boy would've been dead! No matter, I'll just get them next time. I can't let him down, I have a favor to repay, and I'm gonna do it," says Leon as he laughs evilly, and then hunches over in pain. "But first I need to heal up," he moans as he turns invisible to find a place to heal himself.


	5. Don't Eat the Desert Fruit

**Before you start reading, this goes out to the guest reviewer who calls themself "slutty sea otter". I would appriciate it if you would stop leaving reviews asking why no one has raped Marceline or Bubblegum yet. I don't know what your deal is, but please stop. With that said, enjoy.**

* * *

As Finn and Jake make their way through the Evil Forest, Finn pulls out a first aid kit from his pack and begins tending to his wounds. He had never dealt with an assassin like that before. First there was Scorcher, but he never really went face to face with him. Then there was Me-mow, who had little to no way of hurting him, besides poisoning Jake, which really hurt him. Now there's Leon, who really managed to do a number on Finn. As he heals his wounds, he begins thinking about what happened when he managed to break free from Leon's tail. Finn remembers thinking about failing to find the blood rose and what would happen to Marceline. She'd die if he and Jake don't get the rose, but just thinking about that made energy pour all throughout Finn.

'Am I really falling for her?' Finn thinks, sticking a band aid on a cut on his left arm.

"Yo Finn, you're pretty quiet back there; everything okay?" asks Jake, concerned about his brother.

Finn jumps at the sound of his bro's voice. "Huh? Oh yeah, just focusing on fixing myself up, heh heh," he laughs nervously.

Jake turns his head around, a look of uncertainty on his face. "Well… all right, if you say so." The two heroes continue on, but just as Finn finishes patching himself up, Jake stops in his tracks.

"Why'd you stop, Jake?" Finn asks as he puts the first aid kit back in his pack. Jake then shrinks down to normal size, causing Finn to jump off his back. He then looks in front of him and sees why Jake stopped. Sitting before them is a desert with palm trees everywhere. Bananas, coconuts, lemons, and limes are seen in the trees. There are also small bodies of water in areas of the desert, mostly near the palm trees. "Where are we?" Finn asks as they slowly step foot into the desert.

Jake reaches into his "pocket" and pulls out the map. "We're at the Desert Oasis, the most tropical based desert in all of Ooo, and the only desert to actually have water." he says.

"And the desert begins right after the evil forest?" Finn asks, wondering how a forest area and a desert area are right next to each other.

"Well, while you were patching yourself up, you didn't even notice that we made it out of the forest pretty quickly and stepped foot onto an open field, which led us here," explains Jake, putting the map back in Finn's pack.

"Oh… right on," says Finn as they continue on. As the adventurers go through the desert, they begin sweating due to the heat. Jake, either due to the heat or his laziness, begins falling behind. He stops under a palm tree, one without water, and tries to enjoy the shade, but because of the heat, he really can't enjoy it much. He looks up and sees he's under a coconut tree. He stretches his hand up and grabs one. The magic dog manages to break it open and drinks some of the coconut milk from one of the halves.

Jake downs the milk in the half he chose. He drops the half and gets up, grabbing the other one and rushing after Finn. "Finn! Finn!" He calls out. He finds his bro slowly making his way through the desert, despite the heat of the desert. "Finn, you've got to try this!" Jake exclaims as he steps in front of Finn.

"Wh…what? What are you talking about Jake?" Finn asks, feeling like he's about to keel over from the heat.

"Dude, the milk in this coconut is magic or something. I drank some and I instantly found the strength to keep going, and it's good! Try it!"

Finn sighs, hoping his bro his right. He takes the half Jake is holding and drinks from it. After downing it all, Finn drops the half and finds the strength to keep going. "Dude, you were right!"

"I know!" Finn feels like he did when he went on his first adventure: all excited and full of adrenaline. He rushes off, throwing his arms into the air and yelling excitedly as he runs. "Wait for me dude!" Jake calls as he rushes after him.

* * *

At the entrance of the Desert Oasis stands Leon, all healed up from when Jake stepped on him. "Well, this is definitely the Desert Oasis," says Leon as he walks in. He looks around, sighing with content as he puts his hands behind his head. "Yup, this is my kind of place to live," he says. The chameleon remembers his old home back in the Bad Lands.

He remembers how dry and hot it was back there. He remembers exploring all of it when he was just a young one. He remembers how he met a bunch of weird hobos when he was in his teenage years. They had some sort of large live gaming system with them. He can't remember. Leon misses his home and sometimes wishes he could go back and see if his old home is still standing or not. But, he knew he'd have to give up living in the Bad Lands when he joined the Guild of Assassins.

As he continues through the desert, he notices something under a nearby palm tree. He walks over to it and sees that it's the half of the coconut Jake drank out of. He picks it up and finds the contents of the coconut empty. "Oh glob, I feel sorry for the poor donkus who drank out of this coconut. These coconuts can mess you up big time," he says, tossing the coconut half aside. He continues onward, wondering how far Finn and Jake managed to get.

* * *

"YEAH!" cries Finn as he swings his sword around in all directions, cutting down some palm trees in the process. Jake chases after Finn, cheering him on.

"Yeah, that's it Finn! Show those monsters whose boss!" Jake cries. From the eyes of Finn and Jake, they see imaginary monsters rushing toward them. But Finn easily cuts through those "monsters" with his family sword. But in reality, Finn is just swinging his sword around at nothing, and occasionally cutting down some palm trees.

Finn stops swinging his sword around when now imaginary monsters are attacking them. He pants heavily, thanks to all the swinging he did, and turns around to Jake. He notices an imaginary monster coming up from behind. "Jake, two o'clock!" Finn cries.

Jake turns around and enlarges his right fist, smashing the imaginary monster into a pancake. "Thanks buddy," Jake says, giving him a thumbs up.

"No problem, buddy," says Finn, returning the thumbs up. They continue through the desert, running into more imaginary monsters. They even run into an imaginary water beast that actually causes them some trouble. Actually, as they progress through the desert, the monsters they run into actually get worse and worse. But that doesn't stop them. The two adventurers eventually reach a large body of water. Beyond the body of water is a rough terrain path.

"Dude, I can see the end from here!" Jake exclaims.

"Sweet, let's get swimming!" Finn cries. He goes for the body of water, but stops when he hears a loud beeping. He looks down and sees the hollow pendant Bubblegum gave him is glowing.

"Incoming transmission from Princess Bubblegum," says a voice coming from the pendent.

"Dude," says Finn, turning to Jake, "Princess Bubblegum is calling us."

"She did say she would call in and check on us," says Jake.

A hologram of Princess Bubblegum appears before Finn and Jake. "Hey guys, I was just checking to see how things were going."

"Everything's going real well; we were just about to-"

"Finn, watch out behind you!" Jake cries. Finn turns around and emerging from the water appears a large imaginary lake monster. "Give me the pendant, you handle that beast." Finn nods and takes the pendant off around his neck, hands it to Jake, and pulls out his family sword to fight the beast. "Man, do you see the size of that thing?" Jake asks Bubblegum.

"Um… Jake, I didn't see any monster," says Bubblegum.

"What? It is right there!" he cries, turning the pendant toward Finn. All Bubblegum sees is Finn swinging his sword around at nothing.

"Jake, there isn't any monster there, Finn's swinging at nothing."

"Well you're obviously blind, because I see the monster just fine. It's all big and purple, and looks like a giant sea serpent."

Bubblegum sighs in frustration. She then looks around the area Finn and Jake are in. "Jake… where are you guys now?"

"The Desert Oasis," he says, turning the pendant back so Bubblegum can face him. "Why?"

"You didn't happen to have any fruit growing on the trees, did you?"

"Actually yeah, Finn and I shared some coconut milk."

"Oh no, this bad Jake, really, really bad!" she cries.

"What's the big deal?"

"Jake, the fruit in the Desert Oasis is filled with chemicals that will cause anyone to eat it see stuff that really isn't there!"

"But it was so good, and it gave me energy."

"The fruit might give you energy and be tasty, but the chemicals really mess you up!"

"Jake!" Finn calls. He looks from Bubblegum and gasps. Finn is seen dealing with three giant lake monsters.

"Is there any way to cure it?" Jake asks Bubblegum.

"There is one way. You guys must drink from the biggest lake in the Desert Oasis, but it's at the very end of the desert."

Jake looks at the lake again and notices the end of the desert on the other side. He rushes toward the lake, dropping the hollow pendant. The pendant lands in a position for Bubblegum to watch Jake run toward the lake. She does; however, notice something strange. As Jake bends down to drink from the lake, she spots a large lake monster looming over him. "Wait… if I can see that monster, then that means… Jake, look out!" she cries.

Jake lifts his head from the lake and sees the lake monster looming over him. He gulps in fear and is then slapped back toward the hollow pendant. It then goes back underwater. "There's a real lake monster here?" he asks.

"I'm afraid so, but can you see the ones Finn are fighting?" Bubblegum asks.

Jake looks over at Finn, and sees him swinging his sword at nothing. "No, I can't. That means I'm cured!" he cries, jumping up in the air.

"Don't get too happy yet, Jake. You still have to get Finn to drink the water, and deal with that monster so you can cross the lake. I'd help you out, but I've got some royal junk to take care of, good luck," she says as the hollow pendant turns off. Jake sighs as he stashes the hollow pendant away for now. He heads over to Finn and wraps his arms around him.

"Jake, what're you doing?" he asks.

"No time to explain. I'm gonna dunk your head into the lake, and I want you to drink some water. Just trust me!"

* * *

Leon continues trekking through the desert, still on the lookout for Finn and Jake. He then comes across cut down palm trees that are scattered everywhere. "They must be close," he says, picking up his pace. He hears voices up in the distance. He blends in with the desert and creeps forward and spots Finn swinging at nothing at the lake, and Jake talking to someone on a hollow pendant. "I finally have you where I want you," he mutters.

The chameleon assassin waits for the right moment to attack. He watches as Jake rushes over to Finn and picks him up. "Now!" he cries. He rushes them on all fours at high speeds. When he is in range, he leaps for Finn. However, just as he leaps, Jake dunks Finn in the lake, causing Leon to go right over them. Unaware to him, the lake monster rises back up to the surface. Leon crashes into his head, causing both him and the monster to sink down into the lake.

Jake pulls Finn out, where he catches his breath. "How do you feel, dude?" Jake asks.

Finn looks around, looking for any monsters. "Jake, what happened to all the monsters?"

"When you went off to fight those lake monsters, Princess Bubblegum told me that the fruit in this desert is filled with chemicals that jack up whoever ate it. The chemicals make them see things that aren't real. So I asked her if there was a cure, and she told me we had to drink the water from that lake," Jake explains, pointing toward the lake.

"Wow… so… we were jacked up?"

Jake nods his head. He then pulls out the hollow pendant and puts it around Finn's neck. "Anyway, there is also a real lake monster in that lake, but he doesn't seem to be around. But just to be safe, I'm gonna stretch us across," he says. Jake grabs Finn and puts him on his back. He stretches them over to the other side of the lake, where they continue their quest to get to the Medic Kingdom to get the blood rose.

As they leave the Desert Oasis, the lake monster rises up out of the lake, holding Leon in a tentacle. He then chucks him high into the sky, where he screams loudly.

"Hey Jake, you hear something?" asks Finn.

"Nope, must be your imagination," he replies.

Finn thinks for a moment and shrugs as they head to their next destination.


	6. Ash in the Wizard Market

The two adventurers continue to follow the rough path. As they walk along it, their surroundings slowly become greener. Finn; however, doesn't notice. He continues thinking about Marceline and wonders how she's doing. He then begins wondering what his life would be like if he had never met Marceline that stormy night. Who would've helped him try to get Princess Bubblegum to go to the movies with him? Who would've helped him, Jake, and Bubblegum unlock the Door of the Door Lords? Who would've helped her reconcile with her father? Who would've rescued her from Ash? Who would've saved her from the Night o'sphere Amulet's control?

Finn realizes that if he had never met Marceline, his life wouldn't be as enjoyable as it is with her in his life. He realizes that if they can't get the Blood Rose back to her in time, his life will be less enjoyable without her around. If she was gone, he'd lose the will to go adventuring. He and Jake have to make it to the Medic Kingdom. He and Jake have to get the blood rose. He and Jake have to take it back to the Candy Kingdom and save Marceline. He hangs his head, thinking what would happen if they don't save her in time. A tear runs down his cheeks.

Jake turns around and notices the tear. "Dude, you okay?" he asks with concern.

Finn jolts his head him, wiping the tear away. Yeah, I'm fine, just… dust got in my eye," he lies.

"Oh… all right. Shouldn't be much longer until we get to the Water Kingdom," he says as they continue on the path. They begin walking up a big hill. Finn looks at the surroundings.

"Man, this place sure is a lot greener now," he comments.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't notice sooner."

"Well, I kinda zoned out."

"Speaking of that, you've been zoning out a lot lately. Everything okay?"

Finn feels a lump in his throat. He can't tell Jake what he's been thinking about, or he'll never heard the end of it. "Uh… well…" stutters Finn as he tries thinking of what to tell Jake. They reach the top of the hill. Finn looks passed Jake and sees something just as the base of the hill. "Whoa, Jake, look!" he cries, pointing at what he sees.

The magical dog turns around and looks where he's pointing. "Dude, do you know what that is?"

"No, what?"

"That's the wizard market! It's one of the best markets in all of Ooo! Dude, we totally have to stop and look around!" Jake cries.

Finn looks at him with a 'not so sure about that' look. "But… what about getting to the Medic Kingdom?"

Jake looks up at the sky and sees the sun slowly setting. "It's getting dark soon. How about this: we stop by the wizard market and look around, and then we set up camp for the night."

Finn thinks about it. They can't really keep going all night. What if they run into monsters, or Leon? They'll be too tired to fend off anything. Finn gives a sigh and nods. "All right, we'll go with your plan."

In an instant, Jake grabs Finn and puts him on his back as he charges down the hill on all fours toward the wizard market.

* * *

Wizards of all kinds are seen roaming the market. Many magical shacks stood, and many wizards are seen in front of each shack, looking to buy something… magical. Even Choose Goose is seen with a shack filled with many magical items. Jake charges right into the wizard market, sliding to a stop before he causes any damage. He shrinks down and Finn gets off his back.

"So this is the wizard market?" Finn asks.

"Yeah, it's so awesome!" Jake cries, trying to contain his excitement as he looks around.

"Why are you so excited to be here anyway?" Finn asks, crossing his arms.

"It's almost mine and Lady's one year anniversary since we started dating, and I've heard there's some cool stuff here that's perfect for rainicorns. Come on, let's look around!" Jake cries as he drags Finn to a nearby shack. Jake begins looking at what the wizard has as Finn just sighs, wishing they could go a little further before they set up camp. Finn would've said no, but he knew how Jake was, and he wouldn't have given up so easily.

As Jake continues looking, a robed wizard bumps into Finn. "Pardon me," the wizard says in a rough voice as it walks off. Finn turns around to get a good look at the wizard, his heart nearly skipping a beat. Finn watches as a wizard with no hands and is dressed in rags walks off. The hero looks back at Jake and sees that he is too preoccupied with looking for a present for Lady Rainicorn. Finn looks back toward the wizard and begins to silently follow him.

* * *

The rag wizard looks around the wizard market, ignoring every shake that notices him and tries to give him a good deal. He walks right passed them. He is on a mission; a mission that will fix all his problems. The rag wizard sighs as continues on, not having much luck with his mission. Then, he sees it: a shack run by a witch. However, it's not the magical items the witch has to offer he is looking for. Behind the old witch, sitting on a high shelf is an old teddy bear with lank arms and legs. It is seen with many patches and buttons for eyes. The rage wizard slowly approaches the witch's shack. The witch spots him coming and grins.

"Ah, a customer," she says in high pitched voice. "Perhaps you would be interested in this magical helmet. Wear it and you'll be infused with all magical knowledge. Or perhaps you'd be interested in this magical potion. Drink it and you'll have the ability to see through solid objects."

The rag wizard shakes his head. "That won't be necessary, for I am only interested in that," he says, using his foot to point at the teddy bear.

The witch turns around and sees the bear. "That old thing? What possible reason could you have for it?" the witch asks, grabbing the bear.

The rag wizard chuckles. "Let's just say… it's something I should've got a long time ago."

"All right… what do you got?" she asks.

The rag wizard uses his foot and grabs a sack from his belt. "Will this cover it?" he asks, dropping the sack in front of the witch. It opens of dozens of gold coins are seen inside.

"Excellent," she says, taking the sack, and handing him the teddy bear. He grabs it with his foot and puts it in his robe. The rag wizard walks off as the witch laughs with glee because of all the gold coins he gave her.

As the rag wizard walks off, Finn pokes his head out from behind a nearby shack. He watches as the rag wizard makes his way to the exit of the wizard market. When he's a good distance away, Finn rushes after him. He spots him sitting on a rock a little ways away from the wizard market. He watches as brings out arms and pulls out the teddy bear from his robe. "If this doesn't fix things, then nothing will," he says.

Finn approaches him from behind, drawing his demon sword. "That's a nice teddy bear you've got there," he says.

The rag wizard slightly jumps at the sound of Finn's voice. "I know that voice all too well," he mutters, stashing the bear away. "Yes, thank you for noticing, human boy," the rag wizard says. "Well, I must be on my way," he says, getting up.

Finn then jumps at him and talks him to the ground. "Cut the act, Ash, I know it's you!" he cries.

The rag wizard pounds the ground and manages to kick Finn off. He gets up and removes the rags. Standing before Finn is Ash, Marceline's ex-boyfriend. "I thought I'd never see you again, chump," he says, brushing himself off.

Finn jumps up and turns to him. "She's not gonna take you back, Ash, not even if you give her Hambo back."

"Oh yes she will, she'll realize that I do care for her and she'll take me back in a heartbeat!"

"Not in her current condition," says Finn.

Ash raises a brow. "What do you mean?"

"She's come down with the vampire flu, and Jake and I are on a quest to get the cure for her."

"My little Mar-Mar is sick? Hmm, maybe both Hambo and the cure are my ticket to getting back together with her."

Finn feels his skin crawl when he says the nickname he gave Marceline. Just thinking about the two of them together causes something to burst inside of him. He rushes toward Ash and goes to swing his sword, but Ash jumps back. "She'll never get back together with you! And if you even THINK about going near her, I'll go all ba-nay-nay on yo' buns, glimp globit!" Finn cries.

Ash looks at Finn with a shocked look. That shocked looks turns into a grin. "Aww, would you look at that? This little chump has a crush on my Mar-Mar."

Finn clutches the hilt of his demon sword tightly and lunges at him. Ash manages to avoid getting stabbed by Finn, but he slices one of Ash's pant legs. The wizard glares at Finn and pulls out his cherry blossom wand. He fires white lightning from it and it zaps Finn. He kneels to the ground as Ash laughs and approaches him.

"Face it, kid, I've got the upper hand. And unlucky for you, I happen to know the cure to the vampire flu. I'll send you a pic of us on our next date," Ash says as he walks off. Finn then finds the strength to slowly get up, and rush after Ash. When Ash has talked about him and Marceline dating again, Finn found the strength to continue fighting. Was this new strength… love?

As he rushes toward Ash, he jumps into the air, letting out a battle cry as he comes down toward him. Ash puts up a magical shield, but Finn breaks through it, causing the two of them to get launched in opposite directions. But as Ash hits the ground, Hambo is launched out of his robe and lands before Finn. The hero rubs his head in pain and looks down at the teddy bear. He goes to grab it, but Ash fires a spell, putting a magical shield around Hambo. Finn looks up and sees Ash with his cherry blossom wand. "Not on my watch!" he cries. He then fires another spell, binding Finn to the ground. He tries to escape, but can't. Ash points his wand at Finn, getting ready to fire a powerful blast of magic. "This ends here," he says. Ash goes to fire the blast, but another battle cry can be heard.

From behind, a stretched out Jake rushes at them. He jumps up and tackles Ash to the ground. "Don't hurt my bro!" he cries as he disarms Ash. The magical binds on Finn break once Ash is disarmed, and the magical shield around Hambo breaks as well. While no one is looking, Finn grabs Hambo and puts him in his pack. He grabs his demon sword and rushes toward the fight going on between Jake and Ash.

Jake wraps Ash up and holds him high in the air. "This is what happens when you mess with my bro!" Jake cries, launching Ash into the sky like an arrow. Jake turns back to Finn. "Dude, why did you run off like that? You're lucky I saved you."

"Sorry man, but when I saw Ash, I knew he was up to no good, so I wanted to stop him," says Finn.

"But you could've been killed!" Jake cries.

Finn sighs. "You're right, I'm sorry, man. It's just…"

Jake sighs. "I know; it's your code of honor to stop evil. Let's just pretend it never happened," says Jake, patting Finn on the back.

Finn looks at him, smiling. "Thanks Jake. So did you manage to find something for Rainicorn?"

"Yeah, look at this!" he cries. He pulls out a jewelry box and inside is a rainbow pendent. "This pendent will allow Lady to speak English, and it'll make her sound like she does when speaking Korean. She'll love it!"

"Nice man, so, shall we set up camp?"

"Yeah, let's find a good place to set up camp," says Jake, stashing the box away. The two adventurers head forward, the night sky appear above them.

* * *

As Ash continues flying through the sky, he sees something up ahead of him. The object gets closer to him and they collide, causing them to fall to the ground. Ash rubs his head in pain and looks over at what he hit. He sees Leon, the chameleon assassin.

Leon rubs his back in pain. "Finally I'm on the ground again." He looks over at Ash. "I guess I should be thanking you."

"Yeah, me too," says Ash. He thinks for a moments and grins evilly. "Maybe you can help me with something."

"I can't, I've got my own problems. I'm trying to assassinate a boy and his dog."

Ash gasps in shock. "What a coincidence. I'm now trying to get revenge of a boy and his dog."

"Hmm, it looks like we will be helping each other after all," says Leon, getting up. Ash gets up as well and they both laugh evilly.


	7. Nightmares and Confessions

**I know this one is shorter than some of the other chapters, but this one is a big drama bomb. Hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

Finn rushes toward Candy Castle, the blood rose at hand. The journey to the Medic Kingdom was rough, and when they got there, they found Leon spreading all sorts of chaos through the kingdom. He also found the blood rose and was going to destroy it, but he and Jake managed to stop Leon before he could. Jake offered to clean up while Finn takes the blood rose to Marceline. He ran as fast as he could all the way from the Medic Kingdom back to the Candy Kingdom.

Finn burst through the doors of Candy Castle to find it deserted. But he doesn't have time to investigate. He rushes up to the Candy Infirmary and bursts through the door to Marceline's room. The room is dark, but the only source of light is a ceiling light hanging above Marceline. Finn rushes to her bed side.

"Marcie! I got it! I got the cure for the vampire flu! Now I can cure you, and-"

Marceline slowly raises her left hand and puts her index finger over Finn's mouth. "Finn… it's too late for me…" she says in a raspy voice.

Finn nearly drops the rose in shock. Did she just say it's too late? Finn shakes his head. "No, I have the cure right here," he says, holding the blood rose up. "All you have to do is suck the red from it, and you'll be good as new!"

Marceline shakes her head. "No… the vampire flu… has spread all… throughout my body. The rose… can't do anything…"

"No… Marcie…" tears begin forming in his eyes.

"Finn… before I go… I just want to say… thank you for trying to… save me. It really… means a lot to me. I'm really gonna… miss you Finn."

Tears begin slowly making their way from Finn's eyes. "Marcie…"

"Finn… you've done a lot… for me in… the past. And I… couldn't be more… thankful. I… I…"

"You what?" Finn asks, anxious to hear what she has to say.

"I… I…" she then falls limp. She isn't breathing and her eyes are closed.

"Marceline?" Finn questions. He begins shaking her. "Come on, please don't be dead, not yet!" he cries. She doesn't spur. Finn drops the rose and begins crying his eyes out. His best friend: gone. His life will never be the same again.

From behind him, Ravenwood looms over him, looking down at him. "Aww, looks like the hero couldn't save her in time. Too bad," he says tauntingly. He then laughs evilly as Finn cries his eyes out. He is then engulfed in darkness, ravens flying around him, and a giant Ravenwood taunting him.

* * *

Finn shoots up from his sleeping bag, panting and sweating heavily. He looks at his surroundings, wondering where he is. He sees trees, a lake, and Jake sleeping right next to him. He remembers that he and Jake had set up camp the night before to get some rest. He looks up at the sky and sees the sun slowly making its way high into the sky.

Jake then lets out a big yawn. "Oh man, that was a good night's sleep," he says, getting up and stretching his arms. He looks over at Finn and sees him sweating and panting real bad. "Dude, you don't look so good, what happened?"

"Jake… I had a nightmare," he says, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

Jake approaches Finn and puts a hand up to his forehead. "Yikes, you're burning up. Probably from all the sweating you're doing right now. Hang on; I packed a cloth in your pack. I can wet it using the lake to hopefully cool you down," he says, dragging Finn's pack from Finn's side. He opens it only to have a stuffed bear looking back at him. "Uh… where did you get this?" he asks, holding Hambo in front of Finn's face.

Finn looks back and forth between Jake and the stuffed bear. He realizes that there's no way to hide it any more. Finn suddenly starts breaking down crying. "Whoa dude, calm down, what's wrong?" Jake asks, setting Hambo back in Finn's pack.

"The nightmare Jake! I can't take it anymore!"

"Take what anymore? What are you talking about?" Jake asks, completely confused.

"The nightmare I had was that we were too late to save Marceline! I was heartbroken and broke down crying on her limp body! You were right Jake, you were right all along, I DO love Marceline! Just… just seeing her limp body in that nightmare just drove me over the edge!" he cries. Jake looks at him with a worried look. He wraps his arms around him, patting his back as Finn cries in his fur.

"Shhh, it's alright, Jake's here," he says in a soothing voice. Jake knows how to deal with these types of situations ever since their parents died. Finn was heartbroken back then, and Jake was there to comfort him. He vowed to always be there for him in situations like this.

"I don't wanna lose her Jake! My life won't be the same if she's gone!" he cries, crying even harder.

Jake realizes he's really in love with her, even more than he was with Bubblegum. "Finn, look at me," he says, pushing Finn off his shoulder and holding him by his shoulders. "I don't know when you started crushing on her, but I do know one thing: you'll never be yourself again now that you've found someone you really connect with. Now, we're going to get to the Medic Kingdom, get the blood rose, and save Marceline! You hear me!" he cries.

Finn hiccups a little, wiping the tears out of his eyes. He looks at Jake, a small smile on his face. "Thanks dude, you really know just what to say," he says, hugging him.

"Yeah, well, you know," he says, hugging him back. "So seriously, where'd you get Hambo?"

"Remember when I went off to chase Ash?" Jake nods. "It turns out he was going to give Hambo back to Marceline so she would get back together with him."

"After the way he treated her? I think she'd just take the bear and reject him. Anyway, we'd better get going, man. Go splash some water in your face while I pack up." Finn nods and rushes off toward the nearby lake. Jake watches as he rushes toward the lake. "Heh, I knew he had feelings for her the minute I tried comforting him in her cave," he chuckles as he begins packing up.


	8. Into the Creepy Cavern

**I just wanna thank you guys for your reviews. You guys are so awesome, and I'm glad you all like this fic, and I hope you like it all the way to the end. Without further adu, here's chapter 8, enjoy!**

* * *

After Finn confessing he's in love with Marceline to Jake, the two adventurers pack up and head off toward their next destination: The Creepy Cavern. As they head for the Creepy Cavern, Finn begins wondering if he should confess to Marceline that he loves her, or if he should keep it a secret. He remembers when he tried to get her to go to the movies with him, and she thought that he wanted to date her. They both made it clear that they didn't wanna get into a relationship. However, the more time they spent together, the more Finn started realizing that he might have feelings for her. And seeing her in her current condition back at the Candy Kingdom proved to Finn that he as feelings for her.

What if Marceline didn't love him back? What if she thinks of him as a silly boy, like Bubblegum did after she turned eighteen again? No, that's impossible. Finn remembers Marceline telling him that she thought he was pretty great. Does she have feelings for Finn? Maybe she developed feelings for him over time. With all the jam sessions and adventuring they do together, it is quite a possibility.

As the two adventurers continue toward the cavern, Jake turns to Finn. "Yo Finn."

Finn comes back to reality and turns to Jake. "What's up, buddy?"

Jake looks in all directions, taking note that the trees around them are becoming less green and lively, and more brown and lifeless. "You ever hear anything about the Creepy Cavern?" Jake asks.

Finn thinks for a moment, trying to remember if he's heard anything. "Nope, can't say I have," he replies. "Why, have you?"

"No, wish I did though."

Finn looks at the ground, wondering if there is any way to get some info on the Creepy Cavern. "Oh!" he cries, an idea popping into his head. He pulls out the hollow pendant from under his shirt. "We can just ask Princess Bubblegum."

"Good idea, let's see what she knows."

"Yeah… now how does this thing work?" he asks, tapping the center of the pendant. It then gives off a pink glow.

"Who do you wish to contact?" asks a computerized like voice coming from the pendant.

"Uh… Princess Bubblegum."

"Now contacting Princess Bubblegum," the voice says, giving off a beep every seconds to let Finn and Jake know it's contacting her. After the fourth beep, the voice speaks. "Unable to contact Princess Bubblegum, please try again later," it says before the pink glow dies down.

"Crap-shack, she's not answering," says Finn.

"Well, so much for that," Jake says. He then looks ahead and sees a large opening in a wall. "Dude… I think we're here."

Finn looks and he too spots the large opening. "The Creepy Cavern… the last obstacle in our path and beyond the cavern is the Medic Kingdom. Let's conquer the heck out of this cavern!"

Jake approaches the entrance and looks inside, only seeing darkness. "It's pretty dark in there, how the gloop are we gonna get through if we can't see?"

Finn brings his pack into view and reaches inside. He pulls out a lantern with an already lit flame. "With this," says Finn, holding it by the handle.

"Dude, what is that? Where'd you get it?" asks Jake.

"This, my chubby buddy, is a magic lantern that Marceline gave me from her trip around Ooo. She told me she didn't have any use for it, so she gave it to me during our last jam session. Never thought I'd use it anytime soon, but guess I was wrong," explains Finn.

"But what makes it magic?"

"Well, the flame inside never goes out, and if the glass has a spell on it that prevents it from ever breaking, watch," he says, punching the glass surrounding the flame as hard as he can. It doesn't break, not even a crack forms.

Jake's eyes widen in amazement. "Whoa, awesome!" he cries. "Now getting through this cavern will be a lot easier!"

"You know it will, dog! Now, let's get moving," says Finn, heading into the cavern, Jake following close behind. As they head inside, they can see stalactites dripping droplets of water from the tips of them onto the cave floor. The noise of the droplets hitting the floor echoes throughout the cavern. Finn looks around the cavern as they progress through it. "You know, this place doesn't seem so bad."

"Yeah, I'm starting to wonder why it's called the Creepy-" Jake stops mid-sentence when both his and Finn's feet hear a splash noise. Finn angles the lantern toward the ground and they both realize they're stepping in water. Finn holds the lantern up high and sees that the cavern ceiling is lowering the further they go. He looks back down at the water, realizing how they'll have to progress through the cavern.

"Looks like we'll have to be swimming for a while," says Finn, getting ready to jump into the water. But Jake quickly grabs him and pulls him back.

"Whoa, hold on dude. We don't know how long we'll have to swim for; what if you run out of air?" asks Jake, the sound of his concerned voice echoing off the cavern walls.

"Oh yeah…" Finn mutters.

Jake thinks for a moment and looks around the cavern. He then spots a stalagmite and snaps his fingers. "All right dude, since I know I can hold my breath longer than you, I'll wrap my legs around this stalagmite and stretch to the other side of this body of water and see how far we'll have to swim, and then we'll make a plan of action from there, sound good?"

Finn nods at Jake. "Yeah, sounds like a plan, bro-ham," he replies. Jake gives him a thumbs up as Finn hands him the lantern. Jake gets on all fours and wraps his hind legs around the stalagmite. He then stretches his way into the water, going deeper as the cavern ceiling lowers. As the magical dog goes deeper, he finds the water seem pretty clear, as well marine life in the cave. Colorful fish swim past him; he spots an octopus resting in the crevice of a cavern wall. It notices him and waves at him. Jake waves back in response. He sees some dancing fish practicing on a rock he passes by, a cat fish up against the wall; he sees many marine life creatures.

'Man, this place sure seems peaceful, why is this place called Creepy Cavern?' he thinks to himself. As he continues on, Jake finds himself at peace. The creatures in the water seem nice, and it's just peaceful to him. If he were a fish person, this is where he would live. Jake then spots a light just above him. He looks up and sees the surface. He stretches up, reaching the surface. He takes deep breaths as he looks around the area of the cavern he just appeared in.

"Nope, there's nothing out of the ordinary here. Finn can totes hold his breath more than enough to make it here," he says to himself. Jake then begins making his way back toward Finn's position. But as he does, he notices that the marine life in the water seems to have disappeared. He looks around, hoping to find something. 'That's weird; this place was swarming with marine life earlier, where'd they all go?' Jake thinks to himself. As he stretches back to Finn, Jake finds himself face to face with a bright light. The magical dog raises a brow in confusion. Using his free hand, he pokes the light, causing it to react and slowly move up. Jake watches as the light slowly moves upward, revealing that it's attached to something. Jake's jaw drops in shock as the light reveals what it's attached to.

* * *

Finn sighs with boredom as he sits down on a rock not too far from the stalagmite Jake wrapped his legs around. He's hoping Jake will hurry back soon so they can continue on their quest to save Marceline. Finn began thinking of what it would be like if he and Marceline started dating. Would everything be the same? Hecks to the no. They'd be spending a lot more time with each other, they'd learn a lot more about each other if they'd date, and Finn would have to take her to fancy restaurants for their dates. But Marceline isn't the kind of girl that would want to dine at a fancy restaurant. No, Marceline is the kind of girl that would settle for anything as a date. A picnic, a pizzeria, a movie, anything would do, unless the movie was a romantic drama, that is out of the question, for both her and Finn.

Then there was her father, Hunson Abadeer, also known as the Lord of Evil and ruler of the Night o'sphere. How would he react to Finn, the super good hero who sliced open his soul sack, releasing all the souls he devoured, AND sent him back to the Night o'sphere? He does remember the demon lord telling Marceline that he and Jake were alright. So maybe he'd be cool with Finn dating his daughter.

As Finn continues thinking about what dating Marceline would be like, something begins creeping up on him. The silhouette of a human looking body with something protruding from its forehead is seen crawling along the cavern ceiling. It also has glowing yellow eyes. It looks down at Finn, a big, toothy grin on its face. It drops down from the ceiling and lands on its feet, causing some water to splash.

Finn shoots up from the rock he was sitting on and pulls out his demon sword. "Who's there?" he asks as he looks around the dark room.

"…you're worst nightmare," says a raspy voice. A light then shines where the figure is standing, causing Finn to nearly drop his demon sword in shock.


	9. Vicious Inhabitants

Floating before Jake is a large, hyooman with an angler protruding from its forehead. It also has glowing yellow eyes and vicious, sharp teeth compared to that of an angler fish. The hyooman has dark blue fins starting on its head and going down its back, gills on its neck, and webbed feet. After Jake looks at these features, he looks back at the hyooman only to see it opening its mouth wide, ready to chomp down on Jake. The magic dog looks for something to hit him with; when he remembers he has the magical lantern in his hand. He swings it and smacks the hyooman right across the face, causing it to recoil back.

The hyooman rubs its right cheek, and then looks back at Jake. It lets out a vicious roar and swims at Jake full speed. Jake tries to escape, but the hyooman grabs him and pulls him further away from Finn's position. It then bites down on Jake's left arm, causing him to scream underwater, making him lose some air. Jake stretches out a third arm to hold the magic lantern, and he turns both his fists giant and begins swatting at the hyooman. It swims with great speed, avoiding all of Jake's swats.

The hyooman then charges at Jake, mouth open wide. Jake puts his enlarged fists up as a shield. The hyooman bites down on Jake's hands hard. Jake winces in pain and then slams the fist the hyooman bit into the wall. The hyooman lets Jake's fist go, dazed from the impact. Jake then begins punching the hyooman with his enlarged fists, pushing it further into the rock wall with each punch. However, with each punch, the ceiling above them is shaking. Then, after one more punch from Jake, stalactites and rocks begins falling toward him. He looks up and gasps, losing even more of his breath. He then feels something tug at his legs. Jake looks back and sees Finn underwater, holding onto the magical dog's leg and swinging his sword at something. Taking that tug as a cue to get out of here, Jake unwraps his legs from the stalagmite he wrapped them around and begins swimming for his life to the next area of the cave he found.

* * *

Finn cannot believe what he is looking at: a hyooman. The hyooman looks exactly like the one Jake ran into, except with yellow fins instead of dark blue, and the source of light is coming from the angler protruding from the hyooman's forehead. "You're a… a…" stutters Finn.

"Hyooman? I know, shocking, isn't it?" it says, a huge grin on its face, revealing teeth of an angler fish.

"But… all the hyoomans are back in Beautopia with-"

"Susan Strong? Yeah, I heard how you and your dog friend helped her and the other hyoomans back to Beautopia. Why am I not with them? Well, I'm not like the hyoomans you saw; I'm much different. The radiation from the Great Mushroom War created hyoomans; however, some of us took in a little too much radiation, thus making us vicious hyoomans who vicious and blood thirsty!"

"You mean… there are more of you?"

The hyooman grins evilly. "That's right, hyooman, there are more than just me. We tried to join the hyooman tribe, but Susan wouldn't let us! Of course, she was named something else back then, but that's beside the point! So, we found this cavern, and have been living here ever since Susan wouldn't let us join her tribe."

"Okay… but how are you able to speak English so fluently?"

"Remember boy, my kind was created from too much radiation from the war; all of us are able to speak English fluently. Susan and the hyoomans can't because they've been cooped up underground for so long that they eventually went a little crazy. And it does help that some unlucky travelers come by here; it helps us remember the English language." The hyooman's stomach then growls loudly. "It has been a while since I've had a meal… guess who's on the menu," the hyooman says with an evil grin. Finn gets wide eyed and gulps with fear. The hyooman then laughs evilly, putting the light coming from its angler out, blinding Finn.

"Cram, I can't see," Finn mutters.

The hyooman laughs evilly. "It's a shame you won't be able to see me kill you," it says, biting Finn's arm with its razor sharp angler fish teeth. Finn yells out in pain and swings his sword, hoping to slice the hyooman. However, with its night vision, the hyooman easily dodges Finn's attempt to hit it. It laughs and charges at Finn, punching him in the gut. Finn gets sent back into the wall and hits it hard. The hyooman then pins him against the wall, laughing evilly as it opens its mouth wide, ready to take a big bite out of Finn. The hero kicks the hyooman in the boingloings, causing the hyooman to screech out and hunch over in pain.

Now released from the hyooman's grasp, Finn stands up and blindly swings his demon sword around, hoping to hit the hyooman. The hero feels his sword slice something and a screech of pain come from the hyooman. The hyooman hisses and lunges at Finn, biting down on his left leg. Finn screams in pain and kneels down, unable to move with his leg now. The hyooman then punches him repeatedly until he is sent flying into shallow water. Finn gets up, still unable to move his leg.

The hyooman laughs evilly. "Dinner is served," it says, slowly making its way toward Finn. However, when it takes a step into the water, Finn hears the splash the hyooman creates when it steps in it.

'Wait… I can use this as an advantage," thinks Finn. He then swings his sword, slicing the hyooman right across the stomach. It screeches in pain as it backs up from Finn. It glares at him.

"You little brat!" it yells. The hyooman tries to approach Finn from a different angle. He rushes toward Finn, but the second his foot hits the water, Finn swings his sword toward the hyooman, hitting it once more. The hyooman glares at Finn, despite knowing the human can't see it glaring at him. The hyooman tries attacking Finn at a different angle once more, but just ends up getting sliced again.

"I don't get it; I was beating this brat's buns easily, now the tables have turned. How is it he is attacking me so easily?" the hyooman mutters to itself as it tries to attack Finn once more. It then stops when it feels water at its feet. The hyooman grins evilly. "So that's how you've been able to slice me," it mutters, realizing how Finn has been able to hit it. The hyooman picks up a pebble and tosses it to its left. When the pebble hits the water, it notices Finn swinging his sword at the direction the pebble hit the water. The hyooman then lunges at Finn tackling him and sending the two of them underwater.

"You're in my turf now," the hyooman says underwater. "Now you'll never see me coming," it says, swimming at high speeds toward Finn, punching him in the gut. He gets launched back further into the depths of the cavern. The hyooman then comes up from behind and bites the same leg it bit into before. Finn screams in pain once more, grabbing onto Jake's leg… wait… Jake's leg? Finn looks behind and sees Jake punching something into the rock wall. Knowing Finn can't take much more of a beating from this hyooman, he tugs on Jake's leg, trying to get his attention.

* * *

From the distance, Jake looks and notices Finn tugging on his leg. He looks up and sees the stalactites and rocks he caused to fall closing in. Jake unwraps his legs from the stalagmite he wrapped them around and begins swimming for his life. The hyooman opens its mouth wide and swims at high speeds toward Finn, ready to bite down on him. But since Finn's holding Jake's leg, he is pulled after him, causing the hyooman to miss Finn, barely miss Jake's legs, and bite down on the wall. It pulls itself out and chases after the two heroes. However, it is quickly hit on the head by a stalactite, knocking it out and causing it to sink to the bottom of the cavern.

Jake makes it back to the surface and jumps out of the water, landing on the cavern floor. He pulls his legs out of the water, where Finn begins gasping for breath. "Finn, are you okay buddy?!" Jake asks with concern as he puts the magic lantern in his hands, ditching the third hand he stretched out.

"Yeah, I'm fine, except that hyooman did a number on my leg," he replies, showing Jake the somewhat bloody bite marks left by the hyooman."

"Oh man, those look bad, get the first aid kit out, and I'll-"

"Jake, calm down, I know how to fix this," Finn says as puts his demon sword back in the makeshift pocket of his pack. He then reaches in said pack and pulls out the first aid kit. He finds a small bottle with the picture of a tear drop on it and pulls it out.

"The cyclops tears? But I thought you used them all up?" Jake asks.

"Nope, this is the same one that I offered you when I asked if I could heal your toes with them. I've save them for an occasion such as this," Finn explains as he opens the small bottle and puts two drops of tears on his bite wounds. Finn and Jake watch as they heal instantly. "Good as new," he says, putting the bottle back in the kit and stashing it back in his pack.

"Man, that stuff does work," says Jake, picking up the magical lantern.

"Yeah, well, we better get going," Finn says as he gets up, now able to walk. But before they head off, the heads of many other hyoomans like the last two Finn and Jake fought appear, hissing at them and showing off their sharp teeth.

Finn and Jake are frozen with fear. "…Jake?" Finn asks.

"Yeah Finn?"

"RUN!" he cries. Finn and Jake run at full speed deeper into the cavern, all the hyoomans chasing after them.

"Now I know why this place is called 'The Creepy Cavern'," starts Jake, "it's full of these creepy fish people!" he cries out.

"There's gotta be a way to stop them!" Finn cries. He then looks up ahead and gasps. "Jake, look, light!" he cries. Jake looks ahead and he too sees light.

"We must be close to the exit! Faster, dude!"

Both heroes pick up speed and dive toward the light. They hit the ground hard, but to Finn, it feels like grass. He looks down and realizes they made it out. "We did it! We made it out!" Finn cries.

"Yeah, but we're not done yet," says Jake, enlarging his fist and punching just above the entrance to the cavern. Rocks tumble down, blocking off the exit. "Now we're done." Jake looks at the lantern. "Guess we don't need this anymore," he says, handing it to Finn, who stashes it away in his pack.

"We're so close, man!" Finn cries. "We'll have the blood rose in no time, and then we can save Marceline!" he cries with excitement. He rushes forward; searching for the Medic Kingdom, but Jake stretches his arm and grabs him, reeling him back in.

"Hold on there, bro, let's check the map," says Jake, reaching into Finn's pack and pulling out the map. He opens it and begins looking at how much further they have. "Okay, the map says if we continue north, we'll find a stump with two branches sticking out of it as if they were hands. Beneath the stump is the Medic Kingdom."

"Great, now let's get moving!" Finn cries, rushing forward. Jake rushes after him, putting the map in one of his "pockets". The two adventurers continue north, until Finn spots something that causes him to stop.

"Yoo who, boys!" a familiar voice calls. Standing five feet from them is Princess Bubblegum, who is motioning them over. As Finn and Jake rush over to her, they spot a blue portal next to her.

"Princess Bubblegum, what are you doing here? How did you even get here?" Jake asks.

"Oh, well… never mind that! I found something very important out about the Medic Kingdom's location. The map I gave you was incorrect."

"Huh?"

"I did some research and it turns out that the Medic Kingdom is a lot further than I thought. So I figured you just made it out of the Creepy Cavern and positioned myself here to tell you this. But there is a bright side."

"Really?"

Bubblegum nods her head. "Mhm, I opened this portal, and it will take you directly to the Medic Kingdom."

Finn's eyes widen as he gasps, his mouth forming an "o" shape. "For realsies?!"

The candy monarch nods and motions toward the portal. "Come on, jump into the portal," she says.

Finn couldn't rush into the portal fast enough. He rushes right into it. Jake approaches the portal, not so sure about this whole thing. "…are you sure-"

"Don't you wanna save Marceline?" Bubblegum asks, cutting him off.

"Well… yeah, but-"

"Then get into the portal and help your friend, silly," she says. Jake turns back to the portal, sighs, and steps in.

Bubblegum smiles as she looks at the portal. "Good luck Finn…" he smile then turns into an evil grin. "…you're gonna need it," she says darkly. She then begins transforming, and in her place is Leon. "I can't believe that actually worked!" Leon cries as he shuts the portal. Sitting behind the portal is the tree stump with two branches acting as hands.

Another portal opens from the ground and out pops Ash. "Did the chumps fall for it?" he asks.

"Yes, now they'll never be able to get to the blood rose!"

"Yeah, they'll never get to it before us. Finally, I can get it and cure my little Mar-Mar," he says, walking toward the stump and kicking it. It instantly moves and a hole is revealed. He jumps down it, leaving Leon.

"So he does plan on saving that vampire? Well then, guess I'll have to kill him, Ravenwood doesn't want _anyone _to ruin his plans. It's too bad though, I kinda like this guy. Gotta wait for the right moment to assassinate him though," he says, jumping down the hole after Ash.


	10. Candy Castle Hijinks

**This chapter here is an interlude. It's here to show what's been going on at Candy Castle ever since Finn and Jake left to get the blood rose. This takes place around the time Finn and Jake are in the Desert Oasis, enjoy!**

* * *

"Don't get too happy yet, Jake. You still have to get Finn to drink the water, and then deal with that monster so you can cross the lake. I'd help you out, but I've got some royal junk to take care of, good luck," says Bubblegum as she turns the hollow pendant off. The candy monarch gets up off her bed and walks over to her desk, where a pile of paperwork awaits her. She sits down, grabs a pencil, and begins working. Ever since Marceline came down with the vampire flu, she's been unable to finish her royal paper work due to her trying to find the cure for it. Sure, it's only been two days, but royal paper work piles up pretty fast if not taken care of. But she's managed to find some time to work on it. Halfway through the paper work, a loud explosion occurs, causing all of the finished and unfinished paper work to topple over and fall into a cluttered pile.

Bubblegum looks at the mess of paper work before her, her right eye twitching. Her face then turns red with anger. Getting up from her chair, she stomps her way up to the infirmary, knowing darn well whom is responsible for her paper work getting cluttered together. She reaches the infirmary, the doctors and nurses wondering why she's angry. Bubblegum reaches the door to the room Marceline is in and kicks it open.

"Ravenwood, I've got a bone to pick with-" she stops and calms down when she finds the room completely empty, except with Marceline lying in her bed, and the room cluttered with papers and beakers everywhere. Bubblegum looks over at Marceline and notices her ice pack has melted. She walks over and replaces it with a nice cold one. She looks down at her, frowning. "Oh Marcie… I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you ever since our big fight. If you make it through this, I just want you to know that… I wanna be your friend again," she says. Bubblegum continues to stare at Marceline, waiting as if she'll answer her.

Bubblegum sighs, knowing she's too sick to answer her, gets up and heads for the door. She's about to leave and shut it, until she hears a faint, familiar voice. "…Bonnie…" Bubblegum's heart skips a beat when she hears the voice. She turns around and see's Marceline's eyes open, barely, but still open. "You… you really mean… what you said?" she asks weakly.

Bubblegum stares at her, shocked to see her actually talking. Then again, she is a strong fighter. The pink princess nods, a smile on her face. "Yes, every word."

Marceline smiles weakly. "I'm sorry… for everything… I've done to you… after our fight."

Bubblegum walks over to her. "It's okay, it's in the past. Now, rest up. I promise you that Finn and Jake will be back soon with the blood rose, and you'll be cured." She walks back toward the door and goes to leave, but is stopped once more.

"One more thing… thanks for… taking care of me," Marceline says.

Bubblegum's cheeks turn red. "You… you know?" Marceline nods. "Well, that's what friends do, but that Ravenwood isn't doing anything to cure you, so I figured I'd try to keep you from succumbing to the vampire flu. Speaking of Ravenwood, I've got a bone to pick with him," she says, shutting the door as she walks out. Marceline smiles and begins resting once more, knowing that Bubblegum has got her back.

As Bubblegum continues searching for Ravenwood, she's happy to know that when this whole thing is over with, she's got her old friend back for good. But that is quickly pushed to the back of her mind as she begins wondering if Finn and Jake ever made it through the Desert Oasis. The candy princess looks out a nearby window and sees the sky is orange, meaning the sun is setting. "I hope they're okay," she mutters. As she continues looking for Ravenwood, she finds herself in the Grand Hall, where Peppermint Butler is seen walking back and forth nervously.

"Oh boy, if she finds out about where that explosion came from, she's gonna flip," the red stripped piece of candy mutters.

"Whose gonna flip if they find out the location of the explosion?" asks Bubblegum as she approaches her butler.

Peppermint Butler turns around and jumps in fright when he sees Bubblegum walking toward him. "Oh, no one, Princess," he says, laughing nervously.

Princess Bubblegum looks down at him, an unsure look on her face. She kneels down in front of him. "Oh come on, you can tell me," she says sweetly.

"Oh! I cannot keep secrets from you, Princess," says Peppermint Butler, giving in to Bubblegum. He sighs, knowing she won't like hearing it. "The explosion from earlier… came from your lab…"

The candy monarch looks at him, a look of utter shock on her face. "…where?"

Peppermint Butler begins shaking. "From… your… lab…" he stutters.

Bubblegum's left eye twitches again and her face begins turning red with anger once more. She gets up and stomps off toward her lab, clutching her fists in anger. This leaves Peppermint Butler shaking with fear.

* * *

As Bubblegum stomps off toward her lab, she begins muttering to herself angrily. "If that butt thinks he can use _my _lab without _my _permission, then he's got another thing coming!" she mutters with rage. She reaches the door to her lab and kicks it open. Her jaw drops in shock as she looks around. Everything is destroyed, all kinds of potions are everywhere, and burnt papers as well. "My… my lab…WHAT THE SPROUT HAPPENED TO MY LAB?!"

She hears a fire extinguisher go off and looks across the room to see Ravenwood putting out a small fire. He looks up and waves at her. "Ah, Princess Bubblegum, what brings you down here?" he asks happily.

Bubblegum stomps her way over to him in anger, quickly grabbing the collar of his plague doctor outfit. "Listen here, you butt, no one, I mean NO ONE is allowed in _my _lab unless I'm in here or I ask someone to retrieve something from here!"

Ravenwood looks around the destroyed lab. "This is your lab? I had no idea," he says.

Bubblegum just stares at him with her mouth hanging open. She glares at the doctor and then slams him against the wall, clutching his collar even harder. "I don't like you, you hear me? I didn't like you the second you introduced yourself. You're not doing anything to cure my friend, you've left the room she's in a mess, and you're trespassing in my lab!" Bubblegum lists off. "I want you out of my kingdom this instant!" she demands, letting go of Ravenwood.

The doctor straightens his outfit out and walks around the room. "I'm… I'm sorry to hear that, Princess. I will pay for the damages done to your lab, and I do realize I've done nothing to cure your friend, but there's a reason I'm down here."

The pink princess looks at him with an un-amused look on her face. "I'm listening," she says, crossing her arms, wondering what he has to say.

"I was working on the formula to cure the vampire flu!" the doctor exclaims. "I thought I had a breakthrough… but it just ended up exploding on me," he says with disappointment. "BUT, I'm one step closer to figuring out the cure!" he cries.

Princess Bubblegum looks at him in utter disbelief. "Well… I guess…" she stutters, at a loss of words. She then clutches her fists and groans with frustration. "Fine, you can stay! But if you don't have her cured in two days, you're banished from my kingdom!" she cries, walking out of her destroyed lab.

"Okay, but let me ask you this: how else will you cure your vampire friend with me gone?" the doctor asks.

Bubblegum stops in her tracks and turns back to him, a grin on her pink, cake-like face. "Oh, I've got something in mind," she says. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some paper work that needs to be attended to," she says as she walks off. She reaches the door to her lab, but before shutting it, she holds up two fingers with her back to him. "Two days," she reminds him, shutting the door.

Ravenwood then taps his fingers together, as if plotting something. "Yes, two days… two days before that vampire's demise," he says silently.

* * *

Princess Bubblegum's alarm clock goes off, causing the pink princess herself to wake up and turn off her alarm. Bubblegum sits up and stretches her arms out. She looks over at her alarm clock and it reads 11:30 A.M. After getting the finished and unfinished paper work back in the right piles, Bubblegum managed to finish the paper work around one o'clock in the morning, and she was tired after all the paper work. Before she went to bed, Peppermint Butler had informed her that today was her day off, so she could sleep in. She had set her alarm for 11:30 A.M., changed into her pajamas, and drifted off to sleep.

"Hmm, what should I do today?" she wonders out loud. Her stomach then lets out a loud grumble. She looks down at it and smiles as she pats it. "Guess I should probably get some food in you," she says, getting out of bed. She walks over to a mirror and looks at what she's wearing: the band T-shirt Marceline gave her, purple short shorts, pink knee high socks, and her hair is tied up into a high ponytail "It's my day off, my subjects won't mind if I'm wearing pajamas," she says as she makes her way to the kitchen. Once there, she finds some sugar coated cereal. The princess makes herself a bowl of cereal and begins eating. Once gone, she sets the bowl in the sink and opens the refrigerator to find a plump strawberry sitting inside.

She grabs it and smiles, knowing Marceline will like it. Bubblegum makes her way up to the infirmary and knocks on the door to Marceline's door. It opens by itself, causing Bubblegum to raise a brow. She walks inside and notices the room is dark. "Hello, anyone here?" she asks. She receives no answer. All she hears is the breathing coming from Marceline. The candy monarch makes her way over to the vampire queen's bed and replaces the ice pack on her head, figuring that the old one had melted from the night before.

As she switches the ice pack, she hears a phone ringing. She looks over and spots a light coming from a caller I.D. phone on Ravenwood's desk. It quickly goes to the answering machine. "Hey Ravenwood, it's Leon. So hey, I found someone that might be of use to me in getting rid of that human and dog you wanted me to assassinate," says Leon's voice.

"What the cabbage?" Bubblegum mutters as she sets the strawberry she brought up for Marceline down and makes her way over to the desk.

"Anyway, his name is Ash, and he's got a bone to pick with these guys too. But we just saw the two head into the Creepy Cavern. So what we're going to do is use Ash's magic to teleport ourselves to the other end of the cave to get ahead of those chumps. Then, Ash is gonna open a portal to the Night o'sphere, where he'll replace Hunson Abadeer's amulet with an exact replica. The replica will put him under Ash's control, and he'll order him to attack and finish that human and dog off at all costs. While he's doing that, I'll be turning into the Princess of the Candy Kingdom you were talking about, stand in front of the portal, and convince those guys to walk into the portal by telling them it'll take them right to the Medic Kingdom. But in reality, the portal is right in front of the tree stump over the hole that leads to the Medic Kingdom. Those fools won't know what hit them! And if they somehow manage to escape the Night o'sphere, then they'll be too late because we'll have destroyed the Medic Kingdom and the blood rose. But I have to go, Ash is waiting for me. Just call me when you get this."

Leon's message ends and the machine shows a blinking '1', letting anyone know that there is an unheard message. Princess Bubblegum looks down at the machine, a horrified look on her face. "He… he sent an assassin after Finn and Jake… I've got to warn them!" she cries, pulling out her hollow pendant from under her T-shirt. However, without warning, a raven lets out a screech. It swoops down and grabs the hollow pendant from Bubblegum using it's talons. "Hey give that back you-" She stops and goes pale when she sees where the raven goes. In the doorway stands Ravenwood. The raven lands on his shoulder and gives him the hollow pendant.

Ravenwood lets out a chuckle. "Oh Princess Bubblegum, you were right not to like me the moment I entered the scene. But here's something you shouldn't have done: you should've have sent Finn and Jake off to get the blood rose."

Bubblegum begins shaking with fear. "You… you know the cure to the vampire flu?"

"Of course, but I can't have them getting it; it'll ruin my plans. That's why I sent Leon to assassinate them. I must say, those heroes are pretty good to have made it to the Creepy Cavern, but once they fall into Leon's trap, they're done!"

Princess Bubblegum looks at him, horrified by his plan to eliminate Finn and Jake. "Why are you doing this, Ravenwood?! Why is it you don't you want to cure Marceline?!" Bubblegum cries out.

Ravenwood laughs evilly. "That's for me to know, and for you to never find out, Princess," he says. The hollow pendent then begins giving off a pink glow.

"Incoming transmission from Finn and Jake," it says. Ravenwood looks back at the pink princess, drops the pendant, and steps on it, crushing it into many tiny pieces. "There's no need for them to know about this."

Bubblegum looks at him with a horrified look. "You're… you're a monster!" she cries out.

Ravenwood laughs evilly and begins slowly approaching her. "It's time you be taught a lesson in not putting your nose where it doesn't belong," he says, despite the fact a nose cannot be seen on Bubblegum's face. She begins cowering in fear as Ravenwood approaches her.


	11. Back to the Night o'sphere

**Okay, some bad news. I'm gonna be starting college here VERY soon. So there won't be any fics from me for quite a while, which sucks cause I love writing AT fics. But I can assure you that Blood Ties will not be going on any sort of hiatus. I've got all the remaining chapters typed up and saved, so I'll be able to post them easily. But after I post the last chapter to Blood Ties, there won't be much from me for a long while. And this is my first year of college, which sucks even more. Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

Finn walks through the portal, a big smile on his face. He couldn't believe Bubblegum managed to open a portal straight to the Medic Kingdom. Now he and Jake could get the blood rose, save Marceline, and maybe she and Finn could be more than friends after this is all over. He needs to Marceline how he feels about her; he can't keep it his feelings bottled up inside of him for the rest of his life. If he waits too long, he might be too late to tell her how he feels about her, and she might have a boyfriend if he waits too long. The hero vows to tell Marceline how he feels about her after she's cured, and they take care of Ravenwood for not trying to do anything to cure her.

The human looks ahead and sees the other side of the portal. He walks through it, ready to see all sorts of herbs and medic-like citizens walking around. However, he is greeted with fire, demons, screams of terror, and statues of a large, menacing demon. Wait… fire… demons… screams of terror…

"Wait… this isn't the Medic Kingdom!" Finn cries out.

From behind, Jake comes out of the portal. He looks around and gasps. "Dude, Bubblegum tricked us! This isn't the Medic Kingdom, it's-"

"The Night o'sphere!" Finn finishes. "We've got to get back to the real world!"

Jake nods and turns around to go back through the portal, but before he can step foot in it, the portal shuts, trapping them within the Night o'sphere. "Uh oh…" Jake mutters.

"No… NO!" Finn cries. "We can't be trapped here, we just can't! We'll never save Marceline now! She's going to die, and it's all because Bubblegum tricked us!" Finn drops down to his knees and falls forward, his face hitting the ground.

Jake looks at his depressed bro, but quickly realizes something strange is afoot. "Finn, something isn't right here."

"What do you mean?" he asks, his face still on the ground.

"Think about it, why would Bubblegum trick us into going to a portal that leads to the Night o'sphere? She too wants Marceline to be cured. And how did she even know where we were? She also didn't tell us how she got to where we were," explains Jake.

Finn lifts his head up and looks up at Jake. "You have a point there, Jake."

"But who would wanna stop us from saving Marceline? There's Ash, but he just wants to save her himself so she'll get back together with him, and I sent him flying away from the way we were going. So who else would wanna stop us?" Jake asks himself as he ponders who would wanna stop them.

Finn then sits up and brings his knees to his chest. "I… I think I might know," he says, looking down at the ground.

"Who?"

"…well, back when we got separated in the Evil Forest, I was confronted by a chameleon that goes by Leon. He told me that he was an assassin and was hired to take us out before we got the blood rose. I would've died if you hadn't found me, because you crushed him."

Jake looks at Finn with his mouth hanging open. "And you didn't tell me about this why?"

"I didn't want you to worry! Plus, I was afraid that if I told you, we would've gone back home."

"Finn, first off, you should tell me stuff like this. That's what bros do; they tell each other stuff so they can have each other's backs. Second, we wouldn't have gone back home because Marceline is our friend, and friends don't let each other down."

The hero looks up at Jake. "I'm sorry Jake."

"Well don't worry about it, because if this Leon guy is behind this, then it gives me a good reason to beat him up. Now, we gotta find Hunson Abadeer, and ask if he knows a way out of here."

Finn nods as he gets up off the ground and dusts himself off. They start to head in a random direction, until they hear a voice.

"Hey, what're you guys doing here?" Finn and Jake turn around and spot a red bat-like demon with horn-like ears, the same horn protruding from its chin, bat-like wings, green eyes, two goat-like legs, and a harness holding two sheathes on its back that each hold a cutlass; or more specifically, the Night o'sphere Jailer.

"Hey, you're that jailer dude who put us in a cage full of bananas!" Jake cries. "Oh, yeah, and we finally see why you're grossed out by them."

"Well… yeah, I'm a jailer, it's my job. But what are you guys doing back? I thought after the whole amulet ordeal, you'd think twice before coming back here."

"We didn't wanna come back here!" Finn cries out. "We were tricked into walking into a portal leading here!"

The jailer looks down at them, nodding his head. "Uh huh, I see. Well, I wish I could help, but, you know, I'm just a jailer, so…" the Night o'sphere demon goes to fly off, but Jake stretches his arms up at him and brings him down to their level. "Ow! What the heck, guys?"

"Oh no, you're not getting away that easily," Jake says.

The jailer tries breaking free of Jake's grip, but this only causes Jake to hole him tighter. "What… do you… mean?" he asks.

Finn kneels down to the jailer. "You're gonna take us to Hunson Abadeer so we can ask him out to get out of here. We're trying to save his daughter from death!"

The jailer looks at Finn with a worried look. "If word gets out that Lady Abadeer has died, Lord Abadeer is gonna be sad, and he'll be so said, he'll give everyone weird punishments for his amusement… okay, I'll help, but only because I don't wanna get grunked up," he says. "Now, if you'll let me go, I'll lead you to Lord Abadeer's place."

The magical dog releases the demon and he flies up into the air, motioning Finn and Jake to follow him. Finn jumps on Jake's back, who stretches himself to a bigger size. Jake then begins following the winged demon to Hunson Abadeer's house. As they head to their destination, Finn looks around, noticing that the Night o'sphere is as chaotic as ever. He then remembers the Demon Apathy rap he sung so the demons could help him and Jake save Marceline from the Night o'sphere Amulet's control. He also recalls Hunson Abadeer liking the rap.

Finn looks up at the jailer. "Hey, how have things been ever since we were here last time?" Finn calls up to him.

The jailer looks down toward Finn. "Well, the boss really liked your rap, and he's made the system simpler and less… waiting in line oriented."

"Cool," the human replies. The jailer continues to lead them through the Night o'sphere and to Hunson Abadeer's place. They go over fire pits, pools of lava, and pass evil, blood thirsty monsters. But, the jailer ends up taking them to a tall mountain. Off to the mountain side is a hole, leading into Hunson Abadeer's house.

"Alright, Hunson Abadeer is inside the mountain. Good luck on getting out of here and saving his daughter."

"Thanks for the help, dude," says Jake.

The jailer goes to say something, but a beeping noise prevents him to. He looks at his left arm, where a watch is seen making the beeping noise. "Time for my shift, see you fools later," the jailer says, grabbing his cutlasses and flying off toward the jail. Jake stretches up to the hole in the mountain side and heads inside. Once in, pictures of Hunson Abadeer are seen all over the wall.

"Man, this guy has a lot of pictures," Jake says as he walks up to one with him petting an animal.

Finn looks around and gasps when he sees a picture of Hunson Abadeer with King of Mars. "Dude, who knew Hunson Abadeer was friends with King of Mars."

"Why is it that we're just now noticing these pictures now and we were already here once before?" Jake asks.

"Probably cause we were busy fighting Marceline when she was possessed by the Night o'sphere Amulet," Finn states.

Jake shrugs and keeps looking around the room, he then spots a picture of him playing golf with a very familiar piece of candy. "Dude, did you know Peppermint Butler knows Hunson Abadeer?!" Jake cries.

"What? No he doesn't," says Finn, figuring Jake is just making stuff up. "He knows Death, but there's no way he knows Hunson Abadeer."

"Oh really? Then look at _this _picture," Jake, says, pointing to the one with him playing golf. Finn walks over and observes it.

"Oh… guess they do know each other." Jake nods his head. "Wait, why are we looking at pictures this guy has?! We're here to ask him if he knows a way out of here!"

"Oh yeah," says Jake, forgetting why they came here in the first place. Jake then spots a blood mist cloud high in the air approaching them. "Uh… Finn…" he points behind Finn, which causes him to turn around. The hero gasps and sees the blood mist cloud, which quickly disintegrates and reveals Hunson Abadeer in his monster form sitting on a mini blood mist cloud Indian style.

"Hunson Abadeer! Oh man, we've been looking for you! You gotta help us get home!" Finn cries.

Hunson Abadeer stares down at them, and then laughs evilly. "Home? This _is _your home!" he cries out.

"What are you talking about?" Jake asks.

"No one leaves the Night o'sphere!" he cries, forming a much smaller blood mist cloud by his right hand.

"Oh come on, not this again," Finn cries, pulling out his demon sword. "Come on, Abadeer, it's us, Finn and Jake."

"Finn… and Jake…?" He looks down at them longer, glaring at them soon after. "YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE THE NIGHT O'SPHERE!" he yells, firing green lightning at them. Finn and Jake jump out of the way, avoiding the bolts of lightning.

Finn looks over at Jake, both with confused looks. He then looks back at Hunson. "What's going on with you, Abadeer, why are you attacking us?"

Hunson Abadeer ignores Finn and fires another green bolt of lightning at him. Finn blocks with his sword. He then lunges toward Abadeer and goes to slice him, but one of his tentacles grabs him and begins tightening the grip he has on him. "Jake… help!" Finn cries out, quickly losing air.

"Finn!" Jake cries. He rushes toward Abadeer and stretches to a bigger size, tackling Abadeer off his blood mist cloud. He loses his grip on Finn and sends him flying toward the wall. He hits it and slides down, hitting a small table with a vase on the way down. The vase falls to the ground next to Finn and breaks. Finn looks at the mess and sees something purple sticking out of the pieces of the broken vase. He moves them away and sees the Night o'sphere Amulet. Finn picks it up and looks over at Jake, who is avoiding green lightning bolts from Hunson Abadeer.

"Jake! Get the amulet off of Abadeer!" Finn cries.

"Why?" he asks, still avoiding bolts of lightning.

"Because I don't think the one he's wearing is the real one!"

"What are you talking about?"

Finn grabs his demon sword and rushes toward the battle going on between Jake and Abadeer. He jumps onto Jake's arm and off of that toward Hunson Abadeer. He lands on the demon's head and slices it open. Abadeer screeches out in pain and kneels to the ground. Finn then grabs the amulet he's wearing and pulls it right off. Hunson's monster form, along with his suit, are sucked right into the amulet Finn ripped right off.

Finn drops the amulet he ripped right off of Abadeer and stomps on it, breaking it. "Dude, what was that for?!" Jake cries.

"Because I found _this _in a vase," says Finn, holding up the amulet he found. Finn and Jake both hear moans and turn around to see Hunson Abadeer getting up, wearing only a white sleeveless shirt and boxers.

He rubs his head in pain and looks back and forth between Finn and Jake. "What… what happened?"

"We're not sure, we were tricked into coming here and the jailer took us to you, but you were attacking us and said we would never leave the Night o'sphere," explains Finn.

Hunson moans in pain, and then remembers something. "Wait a minute… I remember now. Ash came by and told me he wanted to get back with Marceline, but I told him no. Then he zapped me with a spell and stunned me. He then replaced the Night o'sphere Amulet with a cheap knock off, and everything is a blur after that."

"The one you smashed must've put him under Ash's control, and he ordered him to take care of us," says Jake.

"Speaking of amulets, here," says Finn, handing Abadeer the real amulet. He takes and puts it on, regaining his suit.

"Thank you very much boys, Marceline was right to make friends with you guys. Speaking of her, how's my little girl doing?"

Finn looks down at the ground, saddened. "She's… she's in danger."

"…what?" he asks.

"She's come down with the vampire flu, and we're trying to get the blood rose to save her. But we were tricked into coming here and now we're trying to get out," explains Finn.

Hunson Abadeer looks at Finn, taking in what he had just said. "My… my little girl… come with me," he orders. Jake shrugs and they follow him to a room with pictures of Marceline as a little girl, when she was a baby, and a picture with Hunson, Marceline, and her mom. In the center of the room is a portal. "After Ash put that fake amulet on me, I remember seeing him open a portal back to Ooo, but he apparently forgot to close it. This will take you back to Ooo, no doubt about it. But I'm coming with you; I want to make sure my little girl gets cured and I want to teach Ash a lesson."

Finn looks up at Abadeer, a smile on his face. "Thanks, Hunson. Now let's get going!" he cries. Finn jumps into the portal, Jake and Abadeer follow. They find the exit of the portal and head for it. Finn is the first to step out. He realizes this is where they were tricked into going into the Night o'sphere. Jake and Abadeer come out shortly after. Abadeer closes the portal and looks around.

"Dude, look!" Jake cries. He points toward a stump sitting next to a hole in the ground. "That's where the Medic Kingdom is!"

Screams of terror come from the hole, then evil laughter from Leon and Ash. "We gotta hurry!" Finn cries. Jake and Abadeer nod and the three of them jump down into the hole, ready to teach Leon and Ash a lesson they'll never forget.


	12. Leon's Last Stand

Finn continues falling down the hole, trying to pick up speed by falling down face first. He was determined to get the blood rose and beat Leon and Ash's butts for tricking him and Jake, and putting Hunson Abadeer under Ash's control. The human eventually sees a light. He flips over to falling feet first and lands gracefully. Jake comes down and bounces off the ground and lands right next to Finn. Hunson Abadeer appears and floats down, gently landing on his feet. The three look around and noticed many pumpkin lanterns lighting the underground kingdom up, destroyed buildings, citizens that look like various medical appliances and medicine bottles are seen running around frantically, and lots of herbs and spices uprooted and destroyed.

"So… this is the Medic Kingdom? Wouldn't be so bad if there weren't two maniacs trying to destroy it," says Jake.

"Speaking of maniacs, who is the guy that's working with Ash anyway?" asks Hunson Abadeer.

"Well, his name is Leon; he's a chameleon assassin and a member of the Guild of Assassins. He was hired to take me and Jake out, but the thing is, we don't know who hired him," explains Finn.

"Well, let's worry about that later. Right now, we need to get to the Medic Castle, find Medic Princess, and ask her about the blood rose, and hope Ash and Leon didn't get it before us," says Jake.

"We need to hope Ash didn't get his hands on it first; he said he wanted to use it so he could cure Marceline, hoping he could… get back together with her," says Finn, utterly hating thinking about him getting back together with her.

Jake pats him on the back. "It'll be okay bro, don't think about that," he says, trying to calm him down. Hunson looks at Finn, a brow raised in confusion.

"Uh… guys, shouldn't we get going?" the lord of evil asks.

"Oh yeah," says Jake, putting Finn on his back and stretching to a bigger size. "Let's go, I can see the castle from here." Jake points forward and Finn and Hunson can see a light shining down on a large, hospital styled castle.

"Let's get going, buddy!" Finn cries, and Jake rushes off toward the castle.

Hunson stays behind for a moment, pounding Finn's words about Ash getting the blood rose. "Could… could he… no. But… maybe I should keep my eye on him," he says to himself as he follows after Finn and Jake.

* * *

At Medic Castle, Leon and Ash are seen at the entrance. All around them, guards that looks like syringes are knocked out. Leon and Ash look at each other, evil grins on their faces. Ash approaches the front door and tries to open it. "Hmm, looks like it's locked."

"Allow me," says Leon. He pulls Ash back and cracks his fingers and neck. He then turns his fist into a giant sledge hammer and smacks the twin doors, knocking them out of their hinges and sending them flying across the throne room. Someone appears to be sitting on throne though. Sitting on the throne is a humanoid female with blood red hair reaching her ankles, beady black eyes filled with worry, light red skin to the point it looks more pink than red, she is dressed with a combination between a white princess outfit and a white nurse outfit, along with white nurse shoes. Sitting on her head is a nurse's hat designed to look like a crown. Around her waist is a belt filled with medical equipment.

She looks at the entrance, worried who knocked the door in. Leon and Ash step into Medic Castle, their eyes on the girl sitting on the throne. Leon turns his sledge hammer hand back to normal and points at the girl with it. "Medic Princess! Hand over the blood rose and we'll leave peacefully!" Leon exclaims.

The girl, or Medic Princess, glares down at them. "Never! If I wanted you to have it, I would've given it to you already so you'd leave! GUARDS!" she cries out. Then, from two doors on the left and right side of the room, syringe guards holding oversized syringes as their weapons enter the scene and surround Leon and Ash. Medic Princess looks at the two villains, a smug look on her face. "ATTACK!" she cries out. The syringe guards begin charging toward the chameleon and wizard. Leon then turns himself into whistle and begins making a high pitched noise. The syringe guards stop and clutch their ears in pain, their glasses breaking and their fluids spilling out all over the floor.

Medic Princess looks down at the mess Leon made, shocked to see him take out her guards so quickly. She gulps, fearing the worst. Ash makes his way toward her, pulling out his cherry blossom wand and firing a yellow beam at her, causing yellow rings of energy to bind her and immobilize her. "Look, princess, you brought this upon yourself by not giving it to us when we asked for it. Now, you're gonna take us to the blood rose, and we'll kindly be on our way."

Medic Princess shivers in fear, knowing darn well what will happen if she refuses to lead them to where the blood rose grows. She sighs and looks up at Ash. "Okay, I'll take you to it," she says. Ash grins and levitates her up into the air. She begins giving him directions to the castle garden. Leon follows closely behind, his left hand behind his back in the form of a dagger.

The medical princess leads Ash to a green door. He opens it and it leads them to the castle gardens, where many herbs and spices grow for medical uses. "Just keep following the path surrounded by rose bushes and you'll find it," she says, not pleased that she gave up so easily. But if she hadn't given up, Leon and Ash could've possibly killed her. Ash continues down the path, then, standing in front of him sits a big, wide open area filled with green grass surrounded by a small, white fence. Planted in the center of the area is a lone rose whose petals are as red as blood. Ash drops Medic Princess, which gets him a glare from her, and approaches the rose.

"Finally, I've got it!" He cries out, plucking the rose from the ground and holds it up high. "Now I can cure my Mar-Mar and-" the wizard is quickly cut off when a slicing noise is heard. Ash looks down at his stomach and a large gash is seen. He slowly drops to his knees and drops the rose as he clutches his stomach in pain. Medic Princess lets out a gasp as she watches Ash fall. "What… the… bloop… just… happened?"

Before Ash appears Leon, his left hand in the form of a dagger. "I'm sorry I had to do that Ash, but you were planning using that rose to cure that vampire girl, which is something I cannot allow," says Leon, a serious look on his face.

"What… what are you talking about?" Ash asks, moaning in pain.

"I'm talking about that the guy who hired me ordered me to make sure that the human and dog don't get here and take the blood rose so they can cure that vampire girl. If she's cured, it will ruin my client's plan. That's why I planned on killing the boy and his dog, and anyone else who gets in my way. I also plan on slicing this lone rose to bits for good measures," he explains as he picks the blood rose up.

"You… you suck!" Ash blurts out.

Leon then points his dagger hand at Ash. "It's a shame I have to kill you Ash, you were a pretty good partner, but, oh well." Leon raises his dagger hand, ready to finish Ash off. But, he stops when he hears a battle cry. He looks around and sees an enlarged Jake rushing toward them. Finn then jumps off of Jake's back and lunges toward Leon. The hero sends Leon toward the white fence, causing him to drop the blood rose. Finn bends down and picks it up.

"Thank glob we managed to get here before he destroyed it," says Finn, stashing the rose in his pack.

"Yeah, we got it!" Jake cries. He then looks over at Ash, who is still clutching his stomach as blood slowly begins oozing out. "Dude, what happened to you?"

"Ugh… that stupid chameleon… backstabbed me!" he cries out.

"Well, it serves you right for sending these guys to the Night o'sphere and putting me under your control," says Hunson Abadeer's voice as he enters the scene.

"Oh… uh… hehe…" Ash laughs nervously.

"Hello?!" calls a somewhat annoyed voice. Finn, Jake, and Hunson turn and see Medic Princess still in a bind.

"Oh, sorry," says Finn, rushing over to free her.

"It won't work, that jerk is the only one who can free me," she says, indicating Ash.

Hunson walks up to him and picks him up by his hair wisp. "Free her now or your soul is mine," he threatens.

Ash, not wanting to lose his soul, slowly points his cherry blossom wand at Medic Princess and frees her. She gets up and brushes her dress off. Ash then faints from losing too much blood.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Hunson asks.

"Yeah, he just needs to be stitched up," says Medic Princess.

"You're gonna fix him up after what he did to you?!" Jake questions.

"I can't just let him die; it's my duty as princess of the Medic Kingdom to fix anyone up, good or evil. But, we haven't been introduced properly. I'm Medic Princess, ruler of the Medic Kingdom."

"Hi there, princess. I'm Finn, that's Jake, and that guy over there is Hunson Abadeer," says Finn, introducing everyone.

"I know who you all are. Finn and Jake, you're the heroes of Ooo. And Hunson Abadeer, you're ruler of the Night o'sphere. But, what purpose do you have here in Ooo, and coming to my kingdom, other than saving me of course."

"Well, little lady, my daughter has come down with the vampire flu, and the blood rose is the only thing that can cure her," says Hunson.

"Oh my, well, you boys are lucky to have come when you did. That chameleon over there was about to… where did he go?"

Everyone looks over to where Leon was knocked to, but he is nowhere to be seen. Everyone then hears evil laughter as Leon appears behind them, his hands in the form of long, giant swords. "Alright, if I can't destroy the blood rose, then I might as well kill you all! I was hired to stop you from getting the blood rose back to that vampire scum, but it seems killing you is my only option! Have at the!" he cries out, swinging his sword hands around.

Finn's left eye twitches. "Vampire… scum…" he repeats. Something inside Finn bursts once more. The thought of Marceline being called 'vampire scum' just infuriates him. Finn draws his demon sword and rushes toward Leon full of fury. "She's-not-vampire-scum!" Finn cries out as he begins slicing Leon's sword hands, trying to get to Leon himself. The chameleon begins backing up with every hit Finn delivers. Jake and Hunson watch in awe as Medic Princess begins stitching Ash's wound shut.

"What's gotten into him?" Jake asks.

"Love," says Hunson Abadeer. "When Leon called my daughter 'vampire scum', Finn's love for Marceline increased to the point where he wants to defend her good name."

"Love? How do you know it's love?" Jake asks.

"When Finn said what Ash wanted to do with the rose, I could sense that just saying he wants to get back together with Marceline sickened him. And between you and me, if I could choose a boyfriend for my daughter… it'd be Finn."

Jake looks up in shock. "Whoa, for real?!"

"Yes; face it, Finn's the perfect boy for Marceline. They're both adventurous and willing to risk their lives. And the way he put my amulet on to save her, it was just… incredible. That's when you know you love someone: risking your own life for theirs.

The magical dog looks back and forth between Hunson Abadeer and the battle between Finn and Leon. "Man, it's not every day that the Lord of Evil likes a boy who is in love with his daughter."

Leon continues getting pushed back as Finn continues wailing on him. He then finds an opening and turns the tables. He begins pushing Finn back, but Finn manages to hold his ground. Leon lashes his tongue out and sends Finn back toward Jake and Hunson. Upon impact to the ground, Hambo falls out of Finn's pack. Hunson looks down and picks it up, stashing it away in his suit. Finn jumps back up and rushes toward Leon, full of more fury than ever.

The hero looks as if he's about to attack Leon head-on, but he quickly slides beneath his legs, jumps up, and slices his back. Leon screams in pain and swings his swords around in anger. "You'll pay for that!" he yells. Finn avoids his sword hands and actually jumps on top of one. He then slices his stomach, causing him to scream in pain more. Finn jumps up into the air and then kicks him in the face, sending him to the ground.

Leon moans in pain as he changes his hands back to normal and clutches his face in pain. Finn walks up to him, pointing his sword at the chameleon assassin. "Any last words?" he asks.

Leon thinks for a moment and snaps his fingers. "Just one: sayonara." He then disappears, causing Finn to stomp the ground angrily.

"Crab apples, he got away!" he cries out angrily.

"Don't worry about it, Finn. They way you hurt him, it'll be a while before he tries to attack us again. If we hurry, we can give the blood rose to Marceline before he even has a chance to come back."

Finn puts his demon sword away. "You're right, but how do we get back fast enough?"

"I might be able to help with that," says Medic Princess, finishing up stitching up Ash. She reaches into her outfit and pulls out a large vial filled with purple liquid. "See, I'm a chemist, so I like creating potions in my free time. This potion right here will allow you to teleport anywhere you desire. If all three of you drink it, you'll be able to get to your destination," she explains, handing Finn the potion.

Finn smiles at Medic Princess. "Thanks, Medic Princess, but don't you want us to help clean up your kingdom?"

"Don't worry about it; you're on a mission, a mission you plan on completing. My citizens and I will clean up the mess, and once he wakes up, he'll be helping too since he caused some of the mess," she says, pointing at Ash.

Finn nods and opens the vial. He takes a swig and passes it to Jake, who takes a swig and passes it on to Hunson, who finishes it. "Before we do this, where is Marceline at?" Hunson asks.

"The Candy Kingdom," says Finn. Hunson nods and the three of them begin thinking about the Candy Kingdom. They all glow blue and teleport.


	13. The Fall of Ravenwood

Finn, Jake, and Hunson appear in the center of the Candy Kingdom. They look around, making sure they're in the right place. "It worked!" Finn cries.

Jake looks around the area, not noticing any candy people. "Uh, Finn, do you see any candy people?"

Finn looks around the area as well. "You're right… where is everyone?" The entire kingdom is bare. No candy person is seen at all. Where could they be? As Finn begins wondering where they all are, thunder is heard. Hunson looks up and sees storm clouds rolling in. It then begins pouring down rain.

"Come on, let's get to the infirmary!" Jake cries, leading the way. The three of them rush to Candy Castle, rain pelting their faces. Finn can't wait to give the rose to Marceline. Once she is cured, he can confess how he feels about her and hopefully she'll feel the same way. They rush toward the front door of Candy Castle and burst through. Jake stops, causing Finn and Hunson to run into each other.

"Dude, why'd you stop?" Finn asks.

"It's… dark," Jake says.

"Hang on, I got it," says Finn, pulling out the magical lantern they used back in the Creepy Cavern. He holds it up high and nearly drops it because of what he sees. Dangling from the ceiling tied up and gagged is Princess Bubblegum, still in her pajamas. She begins shaking wildly, trying to say something.

Jake stretches up and begins un-tying her. "Hang on, I gotcha," he says as he cradles her. They make it back to the ground and Jake sets Bubblegum on her feet, taking the gag out of her mouth.

"Guys, it's a trap! Ravenwood-" she is cut off when the doors shut and torches begin lighting themselves along the side of the way up to Bubblegum's throne. Sitting on it is Ravenwood, his raven sitting on his shoulders. Sitting before him on a bed is a very sick Marceline.

Everyone gasps when they see Ravenwood and Marceline. "Marceline!" Hunson cries out.

Ravenwood slowly claps his hands together. "Bravo, heroes. I must say, I am very impressed with your heroic acts. You took a long, perilous journey and came back victorious. However…" Ravenwood then gets up and points his hands at them. Sharp needles come from his fingers, and he clashes them together, trying to threaten them. "It all comes to an end here," he says darkly.

"I… I don't understand," says Finn.

"Ravenwood was the one who sent Leon after you! He's been trying to prevent you from getting the blood rose to cure Marceline, why I don't know!" cries Bubblegum.

Ravenwood glares at Bubblegum from behind his mask and stretches one of his needles toward Bubblegum, poking her in the butt. She lets out a squeak and falls forward, her butt in the air. "Oh Princess Bubblegum, you really need to learn to keep your mouth shut."

Finn draws his demon sword, glaring at the doctor. "What did you do you to her?!" he cries.

"Don't worry, I just put her to sleep, the effects should wear off. But what I'm about to inject into you won't wear of," he threatens. "You shouldn't have gone after the blood rose; you would've lived a lot longer that way."

Jake stretches to a bigger size and Hunson Abadeer transforms into his monster form. "You'll pay for not doing a thing about my daughter's sickness," he says.

Ravenwood merely laughs. "No sir, it is _you _who will pay for joining these two on that journey of theirs. Finn, Jake, Hunson Abadeer. Prepare to meet your maker!" Ravenwood cries out, lunging at them and ready to slice them with his long, sharp nails. Finn jumps forward and blocks them. Ravenwood then kicks the boy back and begins swinging his nails wildly. Hunson steps forward and forms a small blood mist cloud above his left hand. He begins firing green lightning bolts at Ravenwood, trying to slow him down. But the doctor stands strong and manages to jab Hunson in the stomach with a nail from his right hand. Hunson slowly begins kneeling to the ground.

"What… what did you do to me?" he asks, now unable to move.

"I injected you with paralysis. Don't worry, it'll wear off, but after I'm done with Finn and Jake, you'll still be paralyzed and that's when I'll finish you."

Jake stretches his left hand into a hammer and his right into a sword. "Try dodging these!" he cries, still bigger than normal. He begins slamming down his weapon hands onto Ravenwood, but the doctor dodges with such elegance. Jake doesn't seem to mind though. Using his peripheral vision, he sees Finn slowly sneaking toward the sick Marceline. Jake knew that he was supposed to distract Ravenwood so Finn could give the rose to Marceline. But he wanted to hit the doctor so bad for sending Leon after them and for not doing anything to cure Marceline.

Ravenwood then puts his nails up when Jake comes down onto him with his hammer hand. A nail punctures the hammer hand, causing Jake to recoil and shrink down to normal size. "Hey… what's going on? I can't stretch anymore!" he cries, trying to turn his hands back into weapons.

"Sorry, pooch, but I just injected you with something that prevents you from using your magical abilities. It's time to finish this!" Ravenwood cries. He then jumps behind Jake and kicks him in Finn's direction. Finn pulls out the blood rose, ready to give it to Marceline, but he is hit by Jake and sent into the wall, dropping the rose. It lands right in her chest. Marceline sniffs the air and slowly opens her eyes.

Finn gets up and looks down at Jake, who is knocked out. Finn growls in anger and draws his demon sword, rushing at Ravenwood. He tries to slice Ravenwood, but the doctor blocks every hit with his long, sharp nails. He then takes a swing at Finn, but he jumps back.

"What's with the nails, dude?" Finn asks.

"Ah, I see you're interesting in these bad boys. I might as well show you," he says. The doctor then puts his hands up. The skin on his fingers slowly begin disintegrating and syringes are revealed. "My fingers are really syringes, each filled with a chemical that can cause many, many side effects," he says evilly.

Finn glares at him. "You're sick!" he cries, rushing at him. Ravenwood lets out a petty yawn and jumps into the air, landing behind Finn and jabbing him in the right leg. Finn has no feeling in his leg and begins limping. Ravenwood then charges at him and kicks him into a sleeping Bubblegum. They both roll into the wall. Finn sits up, rubbing his head in pain, while Bubblegum is upside down against the wall, her legs dangling in front of her face. The pink princess slowly begins coming to. She gets into upright position and notices Finn.

"Oh my glob, Finn!" she cries. "Are you okay?!"

Ravenwood laughs evilly as approaches the two of them. "No, he's not! This is where it ends! Everyone in this room is going to die tonight, everyone except me, of course."

Finn glares at the doctor with intense hatred. "Why are you doing this, Ravenwood?!"

"Well, since you're about to die, I might as well tell you. You see, I'm not a very famous doctor. When I told you I found the cures for the freezer burn flu and the lumps, I was lying. I run a rivaling doctor's office in the Rock Kingdom. But I barely get any patients; they're always going to Doctor Princess. So I came up with a plan: I create and infect someone with a disease with no knowable cure. The vampire flu was the best candidate for my plan. But one problem: I needed a vampire, a famous vampire at that. I've heard of Marceline, and knew she was the perfect victim for my plan. So, one night, I snuck into her house and infected her with the vampire flu vaccine, and I had my little buddy here watch her," he says, petting the head of his raven, who is still sitting on his shoulder.

"Once the vampire flu had taken its full effect on her, the raven quickly flew back to me and told me the good news. Once then, I'd pose as a famous doctor to trick you all into thinking I could cure her. Well, word quickly got out saying I could cure her. But I never planned on it! I wasn't gonna risk my life to go all the way to the Medic Kingdom just to get some stupid rose! I was gonna have Marceline die, but I'd cover it up by saying I cured her and sent her to a vacation to the Water Kingdom. She'd be dead, no one would care, and I'd be the famous doctor I've always wanted to be," Ravenwood explains.

"You sick, heartless monster! I'd care if Marceline was dead!" Finn cries.

"So would I!" Bubblegum cries out.

"That goes for me too!" Hunson yells, still paralyzed.

Ravenwood laughs evilly. "It doesn't matter right now because you're all gonna be dead in a matter of moments!" he cries, the syringe needles on his left hand growing to a larger size. Finn then finds the strength in him to lunge at him, tackling the doctor to the ground. He then raises his demon sword and slices off his left hand in anger. Bubblegum and Hunson gasp, surprised by Finn's action. However, blood doesn't seep out, instead, static comes off of Ravenwood's left arm. He glares at Finn from behind his mask and kicks him off and back toward the wall.

"You insolent little pest! I'm going to make sure you die a slow, painful death along with your vampire friend! You will pay for interfering with my plans!" he cries out in anger. However, as he's doing his monologue, a large mass of tentacles is slowly forming behind the doctor. Finn and Bubblegum watch in shock as more and more tentacles form and grow. Hunson, who is able to see what's forming the tentacles, grins as he reverts back to his normal demon form. Jake begins coming to and he too grins at what's happening.

Finn and Bubblegum continue watching, their mouths hanging open, which confuses Ravenwood. "What? Do I have something on my face?" he asks. Then, two tentacles grab him and rise him up into the air. Finn and Bubblegum notice a large tentacle monster right where Marceline was resting. "So, that was your plan all along, huh?" the monster asks in a familiar voice.

Finn gets wide eyed when he realizes who the tentacle monster is. "Marceline…" he says, smiling.

Ravenwood begins shaking with fear. "You're… you're alright… but… but how?" he asks.

Marceline grins at him and uses one of her many tentacles to pull out a now grey blood rose. "I found this one my chest, sucked the red from it, and I feel better than ever," she says.

"I must've dropped it on her when Jake was thrown into me," says Finn, remembering that he had dropped the blood rose before Jake had been launched at him.

Marceline tightens her grip on Ravenwood and reveals a fanged smile. "Since you were gonna teach them a lesson about interfering with your plans; it's time to teach you a lesson about messing with me and my friends!" Marceline exclaims. She then begins bending Ravenwood until he cries out in pain. However, she ends up breaking him in half, causing everyone to gasp.

"Marceline!" Hunson cries in shock.

Marceline looks at what she has done to the doctor, shocked. "I swear, I didn't mean to! I was just trying to get him to cry in pain!" Then, Ravenwood's legs fallout from Marceline's grasp. They hit the floor and it is revealed that his legs were stilts.

"What the… stilts?" questions Jake.

Finn, Bubblegum, Marceline, and Hunson look back at Ravenwood, who is now trying to escape Marceline's grasp. When doing so; however, his arms fall off, revealing that they are really robotic arms.

"What the math is going on here?!" asks Finn. Ravenwood finally manages to escape and falls to the floor, the robe covering him completely. The raven that was perched on his shoulder looks down at the robe.

"…my king?" it asks.

"King?" questions Bubblegum.

From the robes emerges the head of Ravenwood, except with a raven's body. Ravenwood removes the plague doctor's mask from his face and it is revealed that Ravenwood is nothing but a slightly larger raven with a small crown.

"You mean… you're a raven?" asks Marceline as she reverts back to her normal self.

Ravenwood looks at everyone and glares at them. "Yes, I am really the King Raven. I just made up the name Ravenwood, but I liked it so much that I actually had it changed to that."

"But why were you posing as a doctor?" asks Jake.

"I had always dreamed of being a doctor, but my friends told me to just stick to ruling the ravens. But I wanted to prove them wrong, and thus, my plan was born."

"But… how did you make those robotic arms and how did you manage to use those stilts so skillfully?" asks Finn.

"Years of practice, boy, years of practice. And the arms… I stole them from Bubblegum's lab."

"I KNEW I was missing some robotic arms!" she cries out.

"Anyway, now that you know the truth… YOU MUST PERISH!" he cries, flying toward Finn at high speeds, ready to peck him to death. But a hand appears in front of Finn's face and grabs Ravenwood. Hunson Abadeer is seen standing with his hand out, no longer paralyzed.

"Not on my watch, Ravenwood. You're going to pay for what you did, and I know just how you will too…" Hunson says, grinning evilly. Ravenwood shakes with fear, then, Leon bursts through the ceiling, two sharp sword hands.

"Okay kid, its payback time!" he cries, ready to swing at Finn.

"Forget it man, its over. Ravenwood is defeated," says Jake.

"WHAT?!" cries Leon, turning his hands back to normal. He then turns to Ravenwood. "You still owe me buddy. I expect a check in the mail soon," he says, disappearing. Everyone looks at each other, weirded out looks on their face.

Finally, Hunson is the first to speak up."Oooookay, that was weird. So, should I take these guys to the Night o'sphere now?" he asks, grabbing Ravenwood's lackey as well.

"We'll deal with them later. Right now, I must let the candy people out of the dungeon since Ravenwood imprisoned them there. Then, we're gonna party in celebration of curing Marceline and the fall of Ravenwood!" Bubblegum cries as she rushes off toward the dungeon.

* * *

Everyone is partying their butts off. The candy people are seen dancing, chatting, and eating, Princess Bubblegum, who is now wearing a purple T-shirt, a blue jeans mini skirt, and some pink boots, is chatting with Marceline, Jake is seen having a dance competition with some candy people, Ravenwood and his lackey are seen tied up and sitting on the throne, and Finn is out on a nearby balcony, staring up at the clear, night sky. He lets out a sigh.

"You really like my daughter, don't you?" asks a voice. Finn jumps in shock and turns around to see Hunson Abadeer standing behind him.

"Oh… well…" Finn's not sure what to say to him. Is he gonna be mad if he says yes, pleased if he says no?

"Don't worry Finn, I know you really like her."

"How do you-"

"When you were battling Leon back in the Medic Kingdom, just all that energy you got after he called her vampire scum was enough to tell me you have feelings for Marceline, and you dropped this during the battle," he says, pulling out Hambo from his suit. Finn takes it and looks at it. Hunson then kneels down before him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Finn, I just want you to know that I'm okay with you liking Marceline. You're one of the few boys she's come across that I approve of. I know you'll make her happy."

Finn looks at Hunson and smiles at him. "Thanks, Hunson."

"Don't mention it." He then looks back at the party and spots Bubblegum and Marceline talking. "Well, you ready to tell her?"

Finn hides Hambo behind his back and nods. "I'm ready," he says, heading inside. Hunson watches him walk off.

"I hope you like him back, Marceline, he's a keeper," he mutters.

Finn makes his way through the crowd of candy people, trying to get to Marceline. He begins wondering how he should start things off. Should he tell her right away that he loves her? No. Should he give Hambo to her and then tell her that he loves her? Still no. Finn was freaking out, and by the time he reaches Marceline and Bubblegum, he still doesn't have a plan of action.

"Oh, hey Finn," says Bubblegum.

"Hey Bubblegum… Marceline…"

"Hey, dude," Marceline replies, smiling.

Finn goes to say something, but Bubblegum cuts him off. "Hang on, I'll be right back. I need to help Cinnamon Bun out of the punch bowl. Later, Marcie," Bubblegum says as she rushes off.

'Thank glob she's gone,' thinks Finn, relived he doesn't have to ask her to go. "Uh… Marcie… can we talk in private?" Finn asks.

"Oh, sure man," she says. The two walk off and head to the upper part of the castle. They find a door leading to a balcony and head there. Finn takes a deep breath and goes to speak, but is stopped by Marceline. "Before you say anything Finn, I just want you to know that I'm really grateful for what you and Jake did. No one has ever risked their lives to save me from death, thank you Finn," she says, kissing him on the cheek.

Finn blushes like mad. He then takes a deep breath. "Marceline… when you came down with the vampire flu, I knew that if you died, my life would never be the same. If I never met you, my life wouldn't be as exciting as it is now with you in it. If you had died, not only would my life not be the same, but I wouldn't be the same. I'd be moping over the fact that I lost you. I wouldn't be able to do anything ever again. That's why I'd always risk my life to save you if you were in any sort of danger. Marceline… I love you."

Marceline looks at him, a blush forming on her cheeks. Everything he had said let her know that she actually ment something to someone. And that someone is the one being in all of Ooo who looks beyond every rumor said about her, who can look beyond all the horrible things she's done in the past, and who is really awesome to hang around. That being is Finn the Human.

"I… I-"

Finn stops her. "Before you say anything, I wanted to give you this. Ash was gonna try to give it to you so he could try to get back together with you." Finn then pulls out Hambo from behind his back. Marceline's beady black eyes get wide and begin filling with tears. She slowly takes Hambo away from Finn and kneels down, hugging the stuffed bear and crying. "Whoa, Marcie, what's wrong?!" Finn asks.

Marceline looks up at him, a smile on her face. "I'm just so happy Finn! You risked your life to save me, and you brought back my childhood friend!" She then gets up and wraps her arms around Finn, hugging him. "I love you, Finn," she says. They pull apart and look into each others beady eyes. They find themselves leaning toward each other, their lips eventually making contact. They kiss under the starry night sky, and they both couldn't be happier.

The End

* * *

**Well, that's the end of this fic. I had an awesome time writing this. After I posted chapter one, I never thought this fic would be so popular and so many people would like it. You guys are just awesome, and I'm glad I have people like you following me. I'm kinda sad that this fic is finished, but all good fics must come to an end sometime. I do have more fics planned, well, thwo. A request given by my newest follower, Marceline of the Nightosphere, the long awaited sequal to Ashes to Ashes, and by surprising demand, Return of the King. The request and the sequal's titles are pending, but be on the look out for the request.**

**Speaking of requests, as of right now, I am now taking requests. If you have an idea, leave it in a review of PM me, I'd be happy to write it up. There are a few minor details though that can be found on my profile page. Also, when you go leave a request, it you can, please let me be able to reply to you incase I have any questions or there is something I need to tell you. With that said, I hope you guys enjoyed the final chapter, and I hope to see requests from you guys. Until next time, peace!**


End file.
